SOLDIER's Song
by AznTigress
Summary: Few know what kind of person Zack was when he first enlisted into the Shin-Ra military and the friends that he made along with Cloud. Follow the story of Zack and his gang from his country boy beginnings to his final moments.
1. Chapter 1

Everyone who knows Final Fantasy VII knows the story of how one seemingly simple mission to Niflheim changed the lives of Cloud Strife, Zack Fair, and Sephiroth forever. Yet few knew what kind of person Zack was when he first enlisted into the Shin-Ra military and the friends that he made along with Cloud. Follow the story of Zack and his gang from his country boy beginnings to his final demise.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

The late afternoon sun was shining brightly and warmly over the small town of Gongaga. An energetic young Zack saunters nonchalantly through the scattered wooden homes of his hometown as he carries a bundle of groceries cradled in a paper bag to his house at the far end of town. He passes a group of teenagers playing around with a ball, all of which turn and wave as he walks by. With his hands full, Zack couldn't wave back and responds with a friendly smile instead. Being in a small town like Gongaga, everyone knew everyone so it was very easy to notice a new face. Zack didn't mind the familiarity of it too much, but at times he wished that something new happened more often. The last such event was a Shin-Ra truck passing by the other week, which was somewhat exciting, but not as exciting as Zack wanted to be.

Once home, Zack gently lays the groceries on the kitchen table and looks around his home to find that no one was around.

"Mom? Dad?" he calls out loudly.

"Zack! Are you back already?"

A woman with long brown hair tied back walks into the kitchen wearing dirty boots, khaki pants, a green t-shirt, and a white apron that wasn't quite white anymore.

"Were you working in the garden again?" wonders Zack as he takes a seat and begins taking out his purchases from the paper bag.

"Mmm," his mother nods in response. "The tomatoes are coming out really nice this season. Maybe we'll have spaghetti in the spring."

Zack's mouth waters at the prospect of deliciously saucy noodles and meatballs wreaking savory havoc on his taste buds. If there's anything he loves most, it was his mother's awesome cooking, always made with the freshest ingredients from her well-tended garden and the town's butcher shop.

"Where's dad?" he finally asks upon noticing a missing face in this family scene.

"He's out patrolling with the other men again," answers the woman as she grabs some ingredients and began preparing dinner. "Took his favorite rifle and everything."

"I want to go patrolling, too," pouts Zack, putting his head on the table and giving his trademark sad puppy eyes with his bangs flopped over his face.

"You are much too young to be holding a weapon of any sort," the woman says, turning around to poke her son's nose lightly with a finger. "Besides, you're not allowed to start patrolling until after you turn 16."

"But that's 3 years AWAAAAYYYY!" wailed Zack, taking his head off the table. He brings his hands to his face and drags down his cheeks. "I'll be grey in the face by that time."

"I take offense to that," his mother huffs playfully, putting her hands on her hips. She chuckles and pats her son's spikey head. "Don't worry, Zack. Three years will pass very quickly before you know it."

"It's not passing quickly enough," grumbles Zack.

A set of loud footsteps interrupts the mood as a tall, burly man with short black hair and an eight o' clock shadow comes through the door of their serene abode.

"Zack," greeted the man as he stood there with worn down boots and brown pants held up by tan suspenders. A rifle lay over his right shoulder as his hand held it at the handle with fingers far away from the trigger. If one would add a coonskin cap to the figure, he'd look like something out of a western legend. "How was the grocery shopping?"

"It was allright," Zack answers back, proudly crossing his hands behind his head. "Got everything mom needed."

"That's good," responds his father with a smile and patting the boy on the head. He places the gun upon his gun rack and turns to face his wife. "So what's for dinner today, Rose?"

"Well, thanks to Zack, we're having steak and garlic mash potatoes today," the woman smiles sweetly.

"Great! I need some meat and potatoes in me after what happened today," exclaimed the man, stretching his aching body out.

"Did something happen out there, Jack?" wonders Rose as she places a skillet on the stove, her hazel eyes brimming with worry.

"Ah, James from two houses down decided to start his son's patrolman training today," the man scratches his head.

"But isn't Daniel the same age as Zack?" noted the woman.

"Yeah," sighs Jack. "Apparently Daniel convinced James somehow that he was ready. Turns out that boy still needs to mature some more before he'll have the right mindset to even touch a gun."

"He didn't get hurt, did he?" gasps Rose, putting a hand to her mouth.

"Nah, he's fine, more or less," assures Jack. "The boy would be bandersnatch food right now if I hadn't reached him in time. But it was a darn close call, though." He looks over at his son who had been sitting quietly. He could see a look in his eyes that said he wasn't exactly happy to hear the news. "And _that_, my boy, is why you're not touching a weapon until you're 16."

"Darn Daniel…" Zack grumbles disappointedly, putting his arms on the kitchen table and laying his head on them. "Ruining my chances…"

"You don't pick apples before they're ready, Zack," says his father, patting Zack on the head. "They're just not as good as the ones that are."

"I guess…" utters Zack.

But any discouragement he felt was instantly vaporized by the scent of medium rare beef and fluffy mash potatoes being pushed in front of his face by a smiling Rose.

* * *

The next day, Zack stood outside of his house dressed in his usual plain white t-shirt, blue jean pants, and dark brown hiking boots. With an axe at the ready, an innocent chunk of wood stood propped up on a man-made stump before him. Gripping the tool's long staff tightly with leather-gloved hands, he nails the chunk of wood squarely in the middle, splitting it into two manageable pieces. As he sets up another large piece of wood to chop, a gently breeze wafts through the area, cooling the sweat that was trickling down his head and back. He welcomes the cooling sensation with open arms as he sends yet another piece of wood flying in two directions.

After finishing his chores, he took his gloves off to fan himself. The day was mildly warm, but it could quickly get quite hot if one were to stand in the open for a long period of time like he had been doing. He goes to the town shop to purchase a bottle of water and steps out the wooden building just as a bunch of children and teenagers are heading towards the ice cream man and his cart. He then hears someone call out his name and turns to see his neighbor Daniel approaching him.

"Daniel," Zack greets back.

"What have you been up to today?" wonders the brown-headed boy.

"Ah, just finished chopping up some firewood for my family and came here for a drink," answers Zack, tossing his now empty water bottle into the recycling bin nearby. "So… I heard you talked your dad into letting you patrol the other day."

"Oh, that," chuckles Daniel as he scratches his head nervously. "Well, I mean, my dad has been teaching me how to use a gun and all so I figured I knew enough to go on patrol with him, ya know. Didn't think the kickback was that hard so I sort of fell and that's when the bandersnatch rushed at me. If it wasn't for your dad, I would've been monster food."

"Yeah, he did said about as much at dinner last night," responds Zack, crossing his arms.

"So, yeah, I'm going to join the Shin-Ra army," Daniel declares half-heartedly. Zack could tell the patrol mishap was preventing the teenager from being more enthusiastic about the announcement. "Once I get enough combat experience, I'll come back and make my dad proud."

"Why not just get into SOLDIER instead?" wonders Zack. "Skip the army altogether."

"What are you talking about?" Daniel says as he raises an eyebrow at his neighbor. "You can't get into SOLDIER unless you're in the Shin-Ra army."

"Seriously?" Zack cocks his head incredulously at the sound of this new information.

"Of course," replies Daniel. "SOLDIER members are picked from Shin-Ra infantrymen. They're not going to pick some nobody country boys like us out of the blue, ya know."

"That does make sense now that I think about it," ponders Zack, bringing a hand up to his chin thoughtfully. "So I have to be an infantryman before I become a member of SOLDIER, huh."

"You gonna join me?" asks Daniel. "Supposedly the recruit truck is coming back here in a few more days. A bunch of the other guys and I are going on it."

"I don't know," says Zack, putting a hand on his hip. "My dad won't even let me patrol with him until I'm older. I highly doubt he'll be okay with me becoming a soldier. I'm sure he'll yank me off that truck if I so much take a step on it."

"That's tough," responds Daniel. "Well, I'm going home to get ready. See ya, Zack!"

"See ya!" Zack bids with a wave of his hand.

Stepping off the shop porch, he gradually makes his way back home. He looks around at the children playing without a care in the world and adults working hard to make ends meet. It was a world Zack was born into and a scene that he's seen everyday. It was a sight of everlasting contentment that's been largely unchanged for who knows how many decades. It was then that Zack realized that this was not the life he really wants, despite how nice it is. His heart was not satisfied with the same old stuff; he wanted something more, something different. He wanted to be strong; he wanted to see the world, and most of all, he wanted to be a hero that surpasses even the might of Sephiroth, his decided rival in all things great.

But all that was not going to happen by just staying in one place wishing it would happen. Zack was determined to make it happen and he plans to do something about it. He was generally a good kid and never gotten into fights before. Surely that would be enough to convince his parents.

Right?

* * *

That evening, when Zack and his parents sat down for dinner, the teenager wonders how he should bring up the subject. He toys around with the spaghetti on his plate, thinking deeply that this would be the last good meal he would enjoy in a long time.

"So, Zack."

Zack's eyes perk up and aim towards his father. "Yeah, dad?"

"I have a friend name Bill who owns a chocobo farm on the western continent," began Jack. "Now, I know you're at that age when you want to explore the world and learn new things so this is a great opportunity for you to do just that."

"Chocobos?" repeated Zack. He wasn't too happy with the surprise, but he didn't totally hate the idea either.

"Yep," responds the man. "Unlike motorcycles and cars, chocobos can go practically everywhere. You'll be able to learn the tricks of the trade and everything. How's that sound?"

"Uh, great, dad," agrees Zack, although half-heartedly.

"Wonderful," exclaims Jack, grinning proudly. "You'll start this spring. I'll send a message to Bill to let him know you're coming."

"Well, actually, speaking of spring…" Zack turns to his parents and gives them his patented puppy eyes as he thinks of a good way to sell his point to his parents. "I heard Daniel was going to join the Shin-Ra ar—"

"You're not joining him and the others," Jack interrupts nonchalantly.

"Why not?" exclaims Zack, feeling beaten before he even started.

"Soldiers are nothing more than political pawns and corporate tools," answers Jack.

"But _I_ won't be. I'm going to become a hero," argues Zack. He tries carefully to keep away from the subject of SOLDIER since he knew that would make his father want to tie him up in his room and not let him go. "I'm going to fight and get stronger."

"Get stronger and become nothing more than a heartless killer," asserts the man firmly. "No, no child of mine is becoming anyone's military dog, never to be seen again."

"I'm not going to be like any other soldier," urges Zack. "I promise I'll come back."

"Zack, listen to me," says Jack. "This isn't like me and the other men going out on patrol to protect the town from monsters. This is the army, the Shin-Ra army, no less. They don't aim to protect folks like you, your mother, and me. They have their own agenda and they'll sacrifice lives in order to make sure their plans go through."

"How do you know? You weren't a soldier or anything," asserts Zack.

"No, but I've lived in Midgar. I've lived in the city and I've seen it happen, Zack," responds the man. "You're not going to join the Shin-Ra military, you are going to help Bill out at the chocobo farm and that's final."

Zack tries to think of another argument to throw at his father, but his young mind could come up with nothing that could stand a chance of changing the man's mind. Silenced by his father's final decision, Zack succumbs to finishing off his dinner and retiring to his room.

* * *

After dinner, while Zack was in his room, Rose joins her husband on their living room couch as a blazing fire roared in the fireplace.

"Don't be too upset with him, honey," Rose urges. "He's just in that phase where teenagers think they're invincible. You went through that, too, you know."

"Yes, I know," sighs Jack. "I guess… I should be grateful he doesn't want to join SOLDIER at least."

"You know, speaking of chocobos," began Rose, snuggling closer to her husband. "I have a friend who lives in Nibelheim and she's been writing to me about how her son's been getting into all sorts of trouble as of late. Maybe if we introduce Zack to him and send them both to Bill's chocobo farm, that'll take Zack's mind off of wanting to join Shin-Ra."

"That's not a bad idea, actually," contemplated Jack. "It could work."

"I'm glad you think so," smiles Rose. "I'm thinking we could hold off on sending Zack to the farm until after we take a trip to Nibelheim. It'll do him good to see the world outside Gongaga, too."

"Should we tell him now?" wonders Jack.

"No, he's probably still upset right now," thought Rose. "We'll tell him in the morning. He should be cooled off by then."

* * *

From his bedroom window, Zack looks up at the stars shining brightly in the pitch-black sky. His parents have already made it loud and clear to him that he was not to join the Shin-Ra army at all. But three years was too long to wait to become a patrolman like his father and Zack wanted to start his hero's journey ASAP if there was any chance of being as strong as Sephiroth. There was only one solution to this problem and that was to run away. Joining Daniel and the other town boys was not an option, as his father would definitely find him near the recruit truck. The only way to really pull this off was to go to the nearest town and get on the recruit truck there. Pulling out a geographical map and spreading it over his desk, Zack sees that the next town was Hoku Village, which lay between Gongaga and the Corel area. He's never been outside of Gongaga before so it is going be tough to figure out where to go. Fortunately he did very well in geography at school so it shouldn't be too hard for him.

But still, it won't be easy to leave the place where he was born and grew up in. Running away from his family and Gongaga meant never tasting his mother's wonderful cooking or seeing his childhood friends ever again. He would have to give up learning how to ride a chocobo and the opportunity to become a patrolman like his father. But on the flip side, he would be able to travel the world, learn new things, make new friends, and maybe, just maybe, become a world-class hero just like his rival, Sephiroth.

He thinks about what his father said earlier and contemplates on the meaning of it all.

"There's no way it's like what he said," thought Zack. "I'll prove him wrong, he'll see."

Gazing over at a photo of his family sitting neatly within a frame on his desk, Zack grabs his travel sack and begins filling it up.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I named Zack's parents after the two main characters from the 1997 movie, Titanic. I just think it'd be amusing considering the similarities between Jack and Rose and Zack and Aerith. (And the fact both the movie and Final Fantasy VII came out in the U.S. in the same year.)

By the way, Hoku Village is NOT a canon town in the world of Final Fantasy VII. I just made it up for the sake of this fanfiction.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It was a bright and sunny day in Hoku Village as the recruit truck came to a complete stop in front of a crowd of eagerly waiting teenagers. Amongst them was 13-year-old Zen, the only girl in a group of half a dozen boys. The infantryman that came out of the truck gave her a curious glance before going around to lower the truck gate and let the teenagers on. In contrast, the boys around Zen didn't mind her presence as they do regard her as one of them due to her strong demeanor and carefree personality. Plus, she has a pretty good right hook and knows how to use it.

Clad in a simple red tank top, blue jean pants, and dark brown hiking boots and carrying her travel sack over her shoulder, Zen is one of the last to climb into the truck's topless bed alongside her fellow village boys. She makes sure her long black hair was still tied back neatly and wiggles a little farther into the bed in order to let the infantryman raise the gate back up and lock it in place. As the truck turns over, Zen brushes her bangs away from her eyes and looks back to bid a silent goodbye to the home she had always known.

Just then, she sees a figure running furiously towards the truck just as the vehicle begins to leave.

"Wait… Wait for me!" cried out the running teenage boy.

The Shin-Ra infantrymen couldn't hear him over the roar of the engine and hence made no attempt to stop for him. However, Zen did and so attempts to help the poor lad aboard the truck.

"Hold my hand," Zen commands a nearby boy as she holds out her left hand. Once he takes it, she reaches out to the running boy with her right hand, the upper half of her body leaning far out over the truck gate.

Seeing his chance, the teenage boy uses every ounce of his strength to jump towards the truck. Then he realizes that he wasn't going to make it. As he falls back, Zen thrusts out more of her body and grabs the boy's hand at the last second, pulling him quickly into the truck bed.

The boy lands roughly onto the ridged flooring of the truck bed, the travel sack he'd been carrying landing right on top of him. Wearing a navy blue t-shirt, khaki pants, and hiking boots, the newcomer seems quite odd to the village boys and they began murmuring amongst themselves as the truck reaches cruising speed.

"Heh, thanks for the lift," the boy says to Zen, scratching his spikey black hair nervously. "I'm Zack."

"I'm Zen," responds his savior, who had settled back to where she was sitting before.

"Y-you're a girl?" stutters Zack, looking quite dumbfounded.

"Aww, am I not flat-chested enough?" jokes Zen with a smile.

"Actually, you _are_ pretty flat-chested for a girl," notes Zack.

"And I'm perfectly happy with that," responds Zen as she puts her arms behind her head. "It's much easier to move around when you don't have 2 pounds of extra baggage weighing you down."

"I guess…" utters Zack. He looks around and finds that there was an empty space across from Zen so he takes the seat and pulls his sack closer to him.

Zen notes the behavior and gives a little smirk. "I suppose you've never been outside your hometown before?"

Zack blushes a bit and scratches his head. "Uh, what makes you say that?"

"Well, for one thing, you're definitely not from Hoku Village, a place renowned for explorers," explains Zen. "And secondly, someone who has been out in the world before would never hold his bag close to him like a security blanket."

Zack eases his death-grip hold on his sack and meekly pushes it to the side.

"So… where are you from?" asks Zen, smiling from ear to ear.

"Um, Gongaga," answers Zack.

"Gongaga? Really?" questions Zen, tilting her head to the side curiously. "But a recruit truck passed by there a few days ago, didn't it? Why didn't you get on that one?"

"It's kinda… hard to explain…" stutters Zack.

"Well, we won't get to the next town that soon," says Zen, noting the speed of the truck and the vast countryside. "And I love stories."

Zack chuckles uneasily and decides that there was no harm to telling the girl. As he spoke, Zen listens intently, letting out a "hmm" every once in a while. By the time they got to the Corel area, she had heard everything.

"Your dad's pretty opinionated about the military," notes Zen thoughtfully. "Ever wonder why?"

"Not really," answers Zack, brushing off the question. "I just want to join SOLDIER and become a hero."

"You and everyone else on this truck," chuckles Zen. "I guess I'm immune to Sephiroth's charms."

Zack scratches his head uncomfortably, impressed by Zen's perceptive abilities. Or maybe it's her typical women's intuition. Who knows?

"So… what about you?" he asks, wanting to switch the subject over to her instead. "Why are _you_ joining Shin-Ra?"

"Me?" exclaims Zen. "Well, with my dad dead, my mom's working really hard to support my sisters and me. She's very old-fashioned; doesn't believe that girls should be doing 'man things' like fighting and hunting." She rubs her nose with a finger and grins. "But I was born to be a fighter. Girl or boy, fighting is a part of me. No amount of convincing will make me change otherwise. So when the opportunity to join Shin-Ra and get paid for what I love to do came, I just had to go for it."

"You're a fighter?" responds Zack, raising an eyebrow incredulously. The girls and women in Gongaga were never known to take up such a masculine profession.

"I think the technical term for a person like me would be 'street fighter'," clarifies Zen. "Ever meet a guy by the name of Zangan?"

"Nope," answers Zack.

"Me neither," adds Zen. "Supposedly he's this great martial artist who goes around the world to find students and train them. But I've been trained by a Wutai fighter and I think that's pretty decent enough for me. Pretty handy with a sword, too."

She stops to look around the truck and notices all the other recruits were fast asleep. Grinning, she takes out a piece of paper from her back pocket and crawls over to where Zack was to sit right next to him.

"Wanna see something neat?" she asks him.

"Uh, sure," replies Zack, unsure of what to make of this.

Upon hearing that, Zen happily unfolds the piece of paper and shows the penciled contents to the teenage boy. He sees a technical drawing of a strange weapon that was half blade, half handle. To one side of the strange weapon was a couple of what looked like weird scratches: 約定

"What's that?" he asks, pointing to the scratches.

"That is a word written in an old language known as Chinese," explains Zen. "I first saw some in a book I found a long time ago. I've been secretly learning how to write it 'cause it just looks so darn cool."

"Whoa," asserts Zack, fascinated by the archaeology of it all. "What do those two scratches mean?"

"It means 'promise', a perfect name for my future sword," Zen declares proudly, pointing to the drawing.

"That's a sword?" exclaims Zack, rotating the paper this way and that.

"Yep, it's called a 'horse cutter'," says Zen. "No idea what horses are, but they must be pretty big monsters to require such a big sword. Supposedly there's a weaponsmith in Midgar that could make anything so that's another plus for me to join Shin-Ra."

"Why are you telling me all this?" wonders Zack curiously as he hands the paper back to the teenage girl.

"You seem like a very trustworthy guy," answered Zen as she folds up the drawing and puts it back into her pocket. "Plus, I've never seen anyone attempt to get on a moving vehicle like you did. That takes guts!"

Zack chuckles and scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. Truth be told, he hadn't counted on oversleeping and having to run to catch the recruit truck. And he certainly didn't count on a girl helping him get onto said truck. Different people sure are different.

The two of them sat in relative silence for a few minutes until Zen suddenly speaks up again.

"Hey!" she says excitedly. "How about you and me make a promise?"

"A promise?" repeated Zack, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course," Zen grins at him and holds out her forearm. "We're friends now, aren't we?"

Zack contemplates her words for a moment and smiles as he bumps her forearm with his. "Yeah, I guess we are. So, what's the promise?"

"Now, I never intended to get into SOLDIER or anything when I signed up for this, but for some reason you've gotten me into liking the idea." began Zen. "So, as newfound friends and brothers in arms, let's promise to get into SOLDIER together."

Zack's eyes widen in surprise at the sound of such a bold statement. Getting into SOLDIER was definitely not easy and the chances of both of them getting into SOLDIER at the same time was slimmer than him sprouting wings and flying.

But, after seeing the hopeful and optimistic grin on the girl's face, he began thinking otherwise. He could just feel it in his guts that, if there were anyone else who had a chance of getting into SOLDIER beside him, it would definitely be Zen.

"Okay," he agrees. "It's a promise."

"AAANNNDDD!" adds Zen, crossing her arms over her chest. "Once we get into SOLDIER, _you_ have to promise to write back to your parents at least once. No matter how noble your intentions, running away and letting your parents worry to no end is the worst thing you could do to them." She raises a finger to her chin. "Well, that and dying, I guess."

Zack nods his head to the side as the guilt made itself known.

"I promise," he exclaims.

* * *

**A/N:** By the way, Hoku Village is NOT a canon town in the world of Final Fantasy VII. I just made it up for the sake of this fanfiction.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It wasn't for another few days or so that Zack and Zen finally made it to the port of Junon in the late afternoon. Their truck had joined up with other recruit trucks at Costa del Sol to board one of Shin-Ra's freight ships just a few days prior and were now being driven off the ship to join even more recruit trucks already at Junon, though their numbers were fewer than the ones on the ship. Zack and Zen gasp in awe at the sight of the seaside city, especially the massive Mako Cannon shadowing them from afar. The two of them were nervous yet excited at the same time, knowing that this was to be the beginning of their journey to greatness.

Once all the trucks lined up along the portside street that overlooked the sea, all the new recruits young and old grab whatever belongings they brought with them and stand in long rows of at least 50 lengthwise. Zack and Zen watched as Shin-Ra infantrymen began passing out what looked to be bundles of clothing. Not long after they spot a tall and burly dark-haired man in a green outfit marching towards the middle of the lineups with two infantrymen flanking each side. Sensing that this man was important, they both stood straighter after they received their own bundle of clothing.

"Recruits!" began the man in a rather booming voice. "My name is Heidegger, and from this day forward you are now known as members of the Shin-Ra army. Do not speak until when spoken to and when you do speak, always respond with 'sir, yes sir'! Is that understood?"

"SIR, YES SIR!" echoed resoundingly throughout Junon.

"The bundles you receive today are your uniforms that you must wear at all times when you report in for duty. If you forget any part of your uniform or your uniform itself when on duty, you will be punished. If you are late to your shift, you will be punished. If you even _smile_, you will be punished! Is that understood?"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

Heidegger looks over the new recruits and smiles in satisfaction at the turnout. "You will now be led to the barracks which will be your new home from now until forever. Infantrymen will pass out keycards which corresponds to a suite of rooms. Each suite is for a maximum of 3 recruits so there should only be 3 keycards per suite. You only get one keycard, so do not lose it! Once you get settled, you will begin your training at 0800 hours sharp! DON'T BE LATE!"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

After Heidegger leaves, Zen lets out a little chuckle that she had been keeping in since the man appeared.

"Sounds like someone's got a stick up his rear," she whispers to Zack. "This should be fun."

Zack, on the other hand, didn't feel as amused as his comrade. He followed a somewhat strict protocol with his parents back home in Gongaga, but this was something far different than what he's used to. He begins having doubts if this was a good idea after all.

Suddenly, a recruit near him stumbles and nearly falls face-first to the ground if not for Zack's swift hand.

"Whoa there!" exclaims Zack as he pulls the recruit back to his feet. "Take it easy now, it's only the first day."

"Sorry," apologizes the shorthaired brunette of a recruit. "I must've tripped over my own feet."

"You're supposed to crawl before you walk, not the other way around," Zen laughs out loud. "I hope you don't forget that before you start training tomorrow."

"Y-you're a girl!" exclaims the recruit.

"Why am I getting a sense of déjà vu again?" says Zen, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know girls could enter Shin-Ra as well," explained the recruit.

"Anyone can become a soldier, technically," says Zen. She gives the teenager an eager thumbs-up. "It's just that not many girls have the guts to do so like me."

The brunette chuckles a little to himself, infected by Zen's warm friendliness. Dusting himself off, he began walking alongside his new comrades.

"So, what's your name kid?" asks Zack.

"Kunsel," replies the teenager. "from Mideel."

"Oh, that place is near the area where the really good racing chocobos are," exclaims Zen, putting her hands behind her head. "You must be a pretty good rider, no?"

"Actually, I've never touched a chocobo before," chuckles Kunsel, scratching his cheek. "Also, this is my first time outside of Mideel. Pretty pitiful, huh?"

"Ah, so you're just like Porcupine here," says Zen, tilting her head towards Zack. "Spikey hair, too."

"Porcupine?" repeats Kunsel in confusion.

"Uh, no, my name's actually Zack," corrected the teenager in question. He playfully shoves the girl. "Zen here just thought it'd be funny to give me an unsightly nickname."

"Hey, it's either that or 'Zen, the boy version'," Zen grins after bouncing back. She then puts her hands on her hips in mock indignation. "And what do you mean by 'unsightly'? I think it suits you just fine."

"Says you," responds Zack with a smirk.

"Ya know, I was feeling pretty scared after Heidegger's speech earlier," began Kunsel. "But after meeting you two, I feel a little better now."

"That's the spirit, Kunsel," asserts Zack. "Once we finish our basic training, it's smooth-sailing towards SOLDIER."

"Seriously? You two are aiming for SOLDIER?" Kunsel nearly trips again after hearing the boy's declaration.

"You say that like it's hard," chuckles Zen.

"That's because it IS hard," responds Kunsel worriedly. "You have to be selected to get into SOLDIER and they only select exceptional infantrymen."

"Well then," began Zen, wrapping an arm around each boy's neck. "We'll just have to be exceptionally _awesome_!"

Before they knew what hit them, the three of them were being herded towards a row of automatic doors. A troop of infantrymen were passing out keycards and explaining to each recruit that they open select barrack doors. Luckily for Zack, Zen, and Kunsel, the cards were not randomized so they were able to grab cards that opened the same barrack suite.

Inside their suite were 3 more sliding doors that did not require keycards to open. One door led to what is supposedly the bedroom, stocked with a bunk bed on the right, a single twin-size bed on the left, and a small bureau in the middle. The next door led to what looks to be a small study room with two desks, two chairs, and two small bookshelves. The last one was a bathroom with two showers, two toilets, and two sinks. The bathroom failed to bother Zen in the least since she was of the type to shower every other day, giving her plenty of opportunities to get the shower to herself.

Immediately, the three teenagers made a beeline for the bedroom to stake out their sleeping arrangements. Zack was aiming to take the top bunk on the right side of the room when a strange tan object flew through the air past him and landed right on his target.

"Dibs on the top bunk!" he hears Zen shout victoriously behind him after having thrown her travel sack to beat her friend to it.

Groaning, he decides to take the bunk below her instead as Kunsel has already taken the single.

"Allright, we've got a full house!" Zen cheers enthusiastically. "And luckily enough, I think we're all going to get along pretty swell."

"GREETINGS, NEW RECRUITS!"

Everyone in the room jumped at the sound of the booming voice that seems to come from some hidden PA speakers in the suite.

"DINNER IS TO BE SERVED IN THE MESS HALL IN 1 HOUR. UNIFORMS ARE REQUIRED! HAVE A GOOD EVENING!"

"What's so good about getting your ears blown off?" Zack mutters loudly as he sticks a finger in his ear to lessen the ringing in it.

"Good grief, if this is going to be the norm, I have half a mind to find those speakers and tear them apart right now," adds Zen, her hands covering her ears in annoyance.

Kunsel laughs at his roommates' responses to the loud announcement.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty handy with electronics," he assures them. "I can lower the volume on the speakers with the right tools."

"Kunsel, you are now my hero," exclaims Zen, clapping her palms together. "If you can do that, my ears are forever in your debt."

"It's no problem," chuckles Kunsel. "I happen to have brought along my travel tool kit so I should have everything I need."

"Sweet," says Zen as she climbs off the top bunk. "And after you do that, maybe we can hack into the Shin-Ra database and make it so the three of us are already members of SOLDIER."

"Zen!" exclaims Zack in shock.

"I'm just kidding," responds the teenage girl with a grin. "I have my warrior's honor to uphold, after all. 'Course it would be a lot easier to be members of SOLDIER from the get-go."

"Anyways," speaks up Zack, crossing his arms. "Let's all get changed and go look for the mess hall. We'll adjust the speakers afterwards."

"Sounds like a plan," exclaims Zen, who starts to take off her tank top to change.

Both boys began blushing beyond red as she did so, but Zack was the first who manages to say anything.

"Uh, Zen," he stutters. "Maybe you should go change in the bathroom."

"Why?" wonders the teenage girl, now in her sports bra along with her pants.

"Well, you see," began Kunsel, averting his hazel eyes elsewhere. "I've never lived with a girl so…"

"Ditto," adds Zack, also averting his eyes.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," sighs Zen. "It's not like I'm going naked in front of you two. I'm still in my underwear."

"Please… Zen…" Zack begs in his puppy tone.

"Fine," Zen rolls her eyes and smiles as she gathers up her uniform. "We're going to have to work on your guys' weird issues."

Once she left the room, Kunsel looks at Zack apologetically and scratches the back of his spikey brown hair.

Zack simply wraps a hand around his neck and smiles meekly.

"This is going to be interesting," he says.

* * *

**A/N:** If you're wondering, no, SquareEnix did not specify where Kunsel came from. I gave him a hometown to make him fit into the story. And before you say anything, Sebastian and Essai are coming later in the story. Should be fun times once they're introduced.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Bright and early the next morning, Zack, Kunsel, and Zen got up, changed, and reported to the training facilities where they would begin their gun training. The first step was to learn how to dismantle and reassemble their assigned guns. Lucky for Zack, his rather secretive experiments with his father's rifle back home in Gongaga made this training a cinch for him. Although the same couldn't be said for Kunsel and Zen, who both were struggling with their guns in some way. Zen could disassemble her gun quite easily, but putting it back together left her scratching her head. Kunsel, on the other hand, could take apart and reassemble his gun decently, but kept running into mechanical issues.

"Well, if they ever need anything destroyed, I'm their girl at least," chuckles Zen, who was still trying to piece together her gun.

"Certainly isn't like taking speakers apart, that's for sure," sighs Kunsel, reassembling his gun for the fifth time.

"You guys just need to get the hang of it, that's all," assures Zack with a grin.

"That's easy for you to say. You grew up around guns," retorts Zen. "I'm more of a sword person."

"You'll get there soon enough, Zen," spoke up Kunsel. "After we master guns, sword-training is next."

"I wish we start sword-training _now_," bemoans the teenage girl, laying her head on the table they're sitting at.

Zack chuckles and pats the girl on the head. Truth be told, he was eager to start sword-training as well. But he doesn't mind taking things one at a time. The Wutai War wasn't going to end anytime soon so he had plenty of time to train up to Sephiroth's level.

Just then he notices Zen glaring at her gun, seemingly prepared to chuck the pile of steel and bolts before her into the nearest wall. He reaches over to her before it was too late.

"How about I show you how it's done?" he laughs nervously.

* * *

Walking along the desert of Corel with guns locked and loaded, Zack, Kunsel, and Zen spot a gaggle of rogue monsters ahead of them. Not wanting to catch their attention, the teenagers flank the sides of the path they were walking, two on one side and the last on the other.

"Ugh, I hate Bombs," groans Zack, spotting the flaming orb demon floating about in the midst of the gaggle.

"Maybe we could shoot at it from afar?" suggests Kunsel, adjusting his helmet.

"It's going to take all three of us to take it down without suffering injuries," notes Zen. "Plus, the other monsters are going to know where we are once we start shooting."

"What should we do, then?" Kunsel gulps.

"Maybe we could dispatch all the monsters around it first," says Zack. "Then we can focus on the Bomb afterwards."

"Sounds like a plan," grins Zen, undoing the safety on her gun. "Ladies first!"

Before the boys could say a word, the teenage girl rushes in and began shooting at some of the monsters. Feeling the adrenaline rushing through their veins, they quickly join in and fire at the other monsters, being careful to avoid the Bomb.

Suddenly, the Bomb darts toward Zen, knocking the girl on the ground and sending her gun flying.

"Zen!" cries out Zack.

The girl turns around to see a Death Claw upon her, its spider-like arms poised to strike. It sends one of its sharp appendages down on her, but she manages to roll out of the way in one piece. With her gun gone and no alternative weapon on her, the girl was now left with nothing but her hands and feet.

"So that's how it's going to be, huh?" utters Zen as she goes into a fighting stance.

Meanwhile, Kunsel takes out one of the monster and makes his way over to where Zen's gun had fallen, hoping to kick it back to the girl before something bad happens. Unfortunately, he gets overwhelmed by two other monsters and is knocked to the ground cold. Zack had managed to kill off the rest of the monsters and sets his sights on his remaining comrade who was currently fighting off the Death Claw.

Zen manages to defeat her monster opponent and turns to find the Bomb right behind Zack. With eyes wide with worry, she calls his name and makes a mad dash toward him in an effort to reach him. Before Zack knew what was happening, he hears the Bomb roar out loudly behind him and a huge explosion engulfs the entire area, monsters and humans alike.

Just then, the world begins to fizzle and break away into chunks of pixels until the only thing left behind was a man-made steel room with three fallen Shin-Ra troopers scattered on the floor. The sliding door of the room opens and in steps a Shin-Ra captain who was looking less than pleased with the results.

"Congratulations," he says with a mightily disgruntled look through his helmet. "You all failed the mission."

Zack groans a little and gets up to face the man with a nervous grin.

"Do we at least get partial credit?" he asks, taking off his helmet.

Obviously not amused by the little joke, the captain simply grunts in response and turns to leave the room. Once he was gone, Zen and Kunsel slowly pick themselves up from where they were lying and manage to get themselves standing after a couple of minutes.

"That went well," says Zen with a sigh as she takes off her helmet.

"The plan was decent, but the execution left much to be desired," notes Kunsel, removing his helmet as well.

"It would've been fine if Zen didn't go rushing in with guns blazing like she usually does," says Zack as he crosses his arms and looks at the guilty party.

"Hey, I waited until _after_ we formulated a plan this time," argues Zen.

"Patience is a virtue, Zen," articulates Kunsel.

"BO-RING," exclaims Zen.

"Well, today's mission is a bust, but tomorrow we all start sword-training," Zack reminds the two with a smile. "I'm sure you're quite happy about that, Zen."

"Sure am!" responds the girl, grinning from ear to ear.

Now in better spirits, the three of them leave the room and head back to the barracks.

"I can't believe they won't actually send us out into the field until we're 15," spoke up Kunsel as they walked along.

"We'll be 15 next year," reminded Zack. "At least we'll be training in the meantime. If I was back home, I'd be sent to work on the chocobo farm."

"I wouldn't mind taming and riding chocobos," says Zen. "Wanna switch lives?"

"Sorry, but I think that's a little too many girls to deal with," retorts Zack.

"Just give it a couple of years and you'll warm up to the idea," grins Zen.

"Whatever," exclaims Zack, playfully brushing her off.

* * *

Deep in the Junon branch of the Shin-Ra headquarters, two Turks stood with a Shin-Ra captain in an empty room overlooking the training facility there. One of the Turks has long flowing blonde hair while the other had short tan hair combed to one side.

"Those three have been performing quite interestingly in the training," notes the male Turk, flicking his blonde hair back.

"They've failed almost half of their training missions," notes the captain. "They're nowhere near SOLDIER material."

"That's for us to decide, not you," speaks up the female Turk matter-of-factly.

The captain glares at the female Turk. He wasn't a big fan of the Turks and having to speak to them like this made his blood boil. Why does Shin-Ra need a covert group like the Turks when the army is at its beck and call?

"With age comes improvement," adds the female Turk. "I can see potential in those three. It's only a matter of time before they blossom and show their true colors."

"Agreed," says the male Turk. "Do continue to keep tabs on them for us, will you?"

"Humph," scoffs the captain as he watches the two Turks leave the room.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, I made it so Zack doesn't turn into a flirt until later. XP He seems more interesting pre-flirt, no?

I hope you've been enjoying the story thus far. If you have any questions, visit my Fanfiction. net forums! (Link is on my profile page.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Several months pass as Zack, Kunsel, and Zen continued their training. Everyday was a new learning experience as they worked hard to get stronger while keeping up each other's morale along the way. Before long, it was time to put their training to the test as the three of them were finally sent on their first ever field mission.

It was a cool day around the area of Fort Condor with gentle breezes that continually sent chills stronger than previous down everyone's back. Kunsel lets out a sneeze and nearly knocks his trooper helmet right off his head. Unlike Zack and Zen, he wasn't used to the climate and terrain of southern areas on the big continents. The conditions back home in Mideel were generally pleasant, with the occasional light snowfall and rain. No amount of virtual simulation could properly prepare him for such an extreme environment.

"You okay, Kunsel?" wonders Zack, stopping to let his friend catch up while the other troopers in their squad continue forward.

"Yeah," Kunsel assures meekly, sniffling as he did.

"I'd offer you a tissue if I had any," speaks up Zen, pulling her pockets inside out to show nothing but lint.

"I'm fine, really," says Kunsel, trying to show a smile through his helmet.

"Just take it easy," says Zack, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "No sense dying here of all places. Especially since it's our first mission on the field."

Zen smiles at Kunsel and gives him the thumbs-up. "Remember, we're _all_ getting into SOLDIER together."

Kunsel couldn't help but smile in return, the three of them continuing to walk along with the rest of their squad.

The last year and a half was quite the learning experience for him as he underwent training with the two upbeat and optimistic soldiers. Thanks to his acute observation skills, he's become quite perceptive to Zack and Zen's particular mannerisms that any other person would've overlooked. In addition, he's also noticed how Zack had been becoming more and more flirtatious with female Shin-Ra employees as of late, likely a result of being exposed to Zen's adventurous spirit for so long. Despite there having been times when the two of them would bump heads (and quite explosively, he might add), Kunsel wouldn't have them any other way. They were the type to bounce back quickly and not hold a grudge, a quality of theirs he greatly admired.

Suddenly, the captain up ahead raises up his hand and the squad stops in its tracks.

"Unit 1 on the left, Unit 2 on the right."

As ordered, the squad splits up in two and the resulting two groups go their separate ways with Zen on Unit 1 and Zack and Kunsel on Unit 2. It was a little nerve-wracking for the three of them, for they had never been separated on a mission until now. Despite the new and unfamiliar situation, the teenagers all had faith in one another's combative abilities. If anything, the boys were more concerned about Zen resorting back to her gung ho ways and giving their squad captain yet another headache to deal with.

Zack and Kunsel follow along a different pathway in a line with their fellow infantrymen until they could see another unit far ahead of them and another unit to their side. After a few minutes, they stop in a certain spot and kneel down in position facing the fort to await further commands from their captain. Zack lays a hand over the handle of the Shin-Ra issued broadsword attached to his back, ready to start attacking at a moment's notice. Kunsel looks over at his friend and grips his gun tightly. Even though he completed sword training alongside Zack and Zen, he didn't feel as confident with the weapon as those two were. Compared to him, Zack and Zen were much better candidates for SOLDIER than he was with their outstanding spirit and dedication.

Recalling Zen's words earlier, Kunsel's heart sank knowing very well he was not going to get into SOLDIER with the friends he's come to be so close to. Their talks of getting into SOLDIER seemed to distance him farther and farther away from them without them knowing. The smiles he continually gave them were not only of happiness but also despair knowing that their time together was not for long. The thought of being left behind made him sadder and sadder with each passing day.

He feels a hand on his shoulder and turns to see Zack give him a grin just as the receiver inside his helmet crackled with static. Next thing they knew, a voice rang out within their helmets.

"First wave, move out!"

"That's where Zen's group is," utters Zack, his fingers wrapped around the handle of his sword tightly. "Get ready, Kunsel."

Kunsel gulps nervously and nods in response. No matter what happens, he was going to take what he could get and enjoy every moment he had left to spend with Zack and Zen. Even if he didn't make it into SOLDIER, the least he could do is help his friends achieve their dream.

"Second wave, move out!"

"That's our cue!" Zack exclaims as he draws out his sword and began running. "Let's go, Kunsel!"

Together, the boys leave their positions and began running towards Fort Condor at full force with Zack slashing at every enemy he ran into while Kunsel picks off the survivors. The going was tough as the two boys had to climb over rocks and other hindering parts of the rough terrain as bullets from both sides rain down upon them. Before either of them realized it, they were at least ten feet away from each other and the gap was increasing. They were close enough to see each other, but too far to provide quick help should one need it.

Just then, a bullet goes through Kunsel's leg, sending the teenage boy down on one knee. Zack tries to get to his friend, but was speedily stopped by oncoming Fort Condor soldiers.

Kunsel tries to get up, but the searing pain was too much for him to bear. Still holding onto his gun, he grabs his injured leg as blood began to seep into the fabric.

"Damn it!" he winces as he feels the bullet lodged between the bones of his shin. He looks up to see a group of the enemies come at him with guns blazing.

In the blink of an eye, a blue blur passes by him and he watches as a Shin-Ra trooper makes short work of the enemies with a sword, the sound of slashing and clanging filling the air. Once done, the Shin-Ra trooper then turns around and runs towards him with sword still in hand.

"Kunsel, how bad is it?" the trooper asks him.

"Zen!" he exclaims, recognizing her voice through the discord of bullets and carnage around them.

"C'mon, I'll help you out of here," she says to him.

As she bends down to pick up the young man with her free hand, Kunsel spies an enemy soldier quickly coming up behind Zen with a sword at the ready.

"Behind you!" he exclaims in a panic.

Kunsel's eyes widen in horror as Zen turns around in time for the enemy to stick his sword clear through her stomach. Blood began trickling down the sword's blade on the other side of her body, rendering Kunsel speechless at the sight before him. But unbeknownst to the teenage boy at that moment, Zen had also managed to pierce her sword through the enemy's heart, killing him instantly. Once Zen pulls her blade out of the enemy's body, the man falls to the ground like a sack of potatoes. It was then that Kunsel realizes what had just transpired.

"Zen!" he exclaims as the girl stumbles a bit from the major injury she had received.

"Let's… go…" she manages to utter after breaking off more than half of the enemy's sword, leaving a little of it in her body to help keep the blood plugged in.

"You can't move, you're hurt!" says Kunsel, getting up on his good leg.

Zen says nothing more as she goes up to Kunsel and puts his arm around her neck to help support him off his injured leg, abandoning her sword on the ground in the process. More Shin-Ra troops along with Zack rush up near them and began covering their escape. Since he was far away when it happened, Zack didn't know that Zen had been injured until he led them back to a safe distance from the fighting. By then, Zen had used up all her remaining strength and collapses in a heap on her side next to Kunsel, her helmet rolling off her head onto the ground beside her.

"Holy shit, Zen!" Zack cries out in surprise upon noticing the sword piece sticking out of her body. "Hang on, I'll get the medics!"

He reattaches his sword onto his back and dashes off to the nearest medical tent. Meanwhile, Kunsel rips off a piece of his sleeve and manages to wrap a tourniquet around his injured leg to prevent it from bleeding further. He looks over to his friend who was now uncharacteristically silent.

"You… okay…?" she manages to say with a weak smile.

"I'm fine, you should be more worried about yourself," he says to her, total worry and concern written all over his face.

"It's okay, it's just a flesh wound," she tries to laugh, but cringes from the immense pain, her split black bangs flopped over her face.

"Take it easy!" Kunsel tells the girl.

He notices that Zen's usually bright and wide eyes were now halfway open and slowly closing more and more as if she was falling asleep.

"Zen! Hang on!" he yells at her, gently shaking her to keep her awake. "Don't you die on us! You said that we were all going to get into SOLDIER, remember? You're not dying here, understand?"

Just then, Zack arrives with medics that were carrying two stretchers. A pair of them carefully lay Zen on one while the other pair move Kunsel onto the other. Zack watches helplessly as he helps lead them back to the medic tents, his heart heavy with frustration and panic. He only suffered cuts and bruises from enemy bombs and guns while his two best friends were injured more heavily than him. If only he had kept a better watch out for them, none of this would've happened. How can he become a member of SOLDIER if he couldn't even protect those closest to him?

Once at the medic area, Zack watches as both of his friends were taken into the tents to be treated. He was caught between returning to the battlefield and waiting around to hear if his friends were going to be okay. Sitting around and doing nothing will do nothing to help his cause to become a member of SOLDIER, but his heart couldn't take it if he didn't know if Kunsel and Zen were going to make it.

How did things get so damn complicated all of a sudden?


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Many days passed since their first field mission to Fort Condor, which ended up being a failure on all counts. Kunsel and Zen were both admitted to the Junon military infirmary and there was no word on their condition since. Exceedingly worried about his friends' conditions, Zack did nothing but squats day after day after day. It was something he usually does when he gets loads of pent-up energy and doesn't feel like going anywhere. He doesn't remember when or why he came to do squats to the point where it was sort of hobby for him, but it helped to relieve any sort of tension he felt when things got a little too much to handle.

Reasonably, Zack could just continue training at the training facility, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to suit up and get to work down there. In his mind's eye, keeping up with training was important, but his heart told him to not neglect his friends either. Both kept competing for top priority as Zack struggles to decide which was more important to him.

_If Zen was here, she'd definitely tell me to go train_, thought Zack as he does another set of squats in the empty bedroom. _But it just feels weird to be there without them._

Suddenly, he hears the front door slide open and goes out to the entrance area to see Kunsel limping towards him on crutches with his injured leg all wrapped up in a cast. The teenage boy was clad in a white t-shirt, blue pants, and one brown boot as his other leg was too weak to bear the weight of a piece of leather footwear.

"Hey," he greets meekly.

"Kunsel!" exclaims Zack, walking up to him with a relieved look on his face. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, the doctors managed to get the bullet out of my leg," began Kunsel. "But I won't be walking around normally for another few weeks."

"That's great!" Zack smiles. "And Zen?"

Upon hearing her name Kunsel lowers his head, his spikey brown hair falling over his eyes.

"I don't know," he says sadly. "She's was put into intensive care. She was hurt pretty badly."

"But she's alive, right?" notes Zack as his heart lifts a little. "That's what matters."

"Yeah, I guess…" Kunsel utters quietly, raising his head so his eyes met Zack's.

The two of them look at each other in silence, unsure of what else to say.

"So…" says Kunsel.

"So…" adds Zack. He lets out an exasperated laugh. "It feels really weird without all of us here."

"So I see," responds Kunsel, managing a smile. "It's a lot quieter without Zen, too."

"Yeah," agrees Zack, scratching his head uncomfortably. "I've been doing squats to keep my mind off of things."

"Squats?" repeats Kunsel, recalling that this was a Zack-exclusive activity. "You've been that nervous, huh?"

"Heh, yeah, I guess," Zack chuckles uneasily. "I just keep doing squats until I'm tired and then I nap."

"Don't nap too much," warns Kunsel. "Zen will get upset with you if she finds out you've been skipping out on training on our account."

"It's not like I wanted to skip out on training," Zack defends anxiously. "I just… I mean… It's…"

Kunsel smiles at Zack, feeling even more appreciative of his friends than ever.

"C'mon," he says, manipulating his crutches to head towards the bedroom.

"Wait, what are you doing?" exclaims Zack in surprise.

"Getting my uniform," replied Kunsel nonchalantly.

"What for?" asks Zack, still clueless on what was going on as he follows his friend through the bedroom door.

"We're going to the training center," Kunsel finally answers as he pulls out a bureau drawer to take out his spare uniform.

"Wha—No, you are not going anywhere near the training facility like that," asserts Zack, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Zack, remember what Zen said about all of us getting into SOLDIER?" began Kunsel. "We're not going to better our chances by lying around and waiting for it to happen."

"But your injury…" utters Zack, dropping his arms.

"Zack, I realized something while I was in the hospital," began Kunsel, manipulating his crutches so he could turn around and face the teenage boy. "These past two years, I never believed in myself. Listening to you and Zen talk about what you were going to do after you got into SOLDIER made me sad because I wouldn't be able to hang out with you guys anymore if I didn't get in."

"Kunsel…" Zack lowers his arms as a serious expression overtakes his face.

"I want to get into SOLDIER just as bad as you guys," says Kunsel, lowering his head. "But I'm just not as dedicated and optimistic. That along with the lack of faith in my own abilities made me lose hope in the dream altogether."

He turns to look at his uniform all folded on top of the bureau.

"But that day at Fort Condor changed everything. When Zen ignored the immense pain she was in to get me off the battlefield safely, that was when I realized it. Achieving your dream isn't just about getting stronger or being confident about making it come true. It's about putting your heart and soul into making the impossible possible. It's about casting aside your fears and doubts and just doing what needs to be done."

Kunsel looks back at Zack with a smile.

"The only one keeping me from getting into SOLDIER… is me," he tells him.

The surprised look on Zack's face morphs into a relieved smile.

"You've changed," he says, crossing his arms happily.

"Heh, for the better I hope," chuckles Kunsel in response.

"Well, I can't say I'm without some flaws of my own," admits Zack. "That day at Fort Condor, I was so focused on defeating as much of the enemy as I could, I didn't bother to check on you even once."

"Zack..." began Kunsel.

"If I had paid more attention, you and Zen wouldn't have…" Zack fades off as the guilt fully set in and he rubs the back of his neck nervously with one hand.

"Zack, you can't always be there for us," says Kunsel. "You're human, after all."

Sighing heavily, Zack turns around and locks his hands behind his head.

"Back home in Gongaga, I'm an only child," he began. "Sure, there were plenty of kids I was friends with, but it just didn't feel… fulfilling, ya know what I mean?"

Kunsel cocks his head to the side. "You weren't that close to them."

"I guess not," thought Zack, looking up at the ceiling. "I never really felt like I needed to protect anyone, you know? Everyone could take care of him or herself, more or less. So I became focused on trying to impress my dad so he'll let me help fight monsters with him, but he refuses to let me do anything remotely dangerous until I was older. It just seems nothing I do is good enough and no one really needed me."

"Can't say I totally understand," sighs Kunsel. "I have close friends back in Mideel and had nothing to hate about my hometown."

"Then why'd you leave?" asks Zack, turning around to face his friend again.

Now it was Kunsel's turn to look up towards the ceiling as he thought about what made him abandon his island paradise.

"It just all felt too good to be true," he says disappointingly. "I was born into this awesome life with nothing to worry about. But… it was _too_ perfect. I felt I had to do something to justify that I deserve it all."

"Heh, seems like Zen is the only one who hasn't been doing this all for herself," says Zack. "And yet, she's so much more upbeat about it all."

"That's what I admire about her," Kunsel admits uncomfortably, looking back at Zack. "No matter how daunting the task, she's always willing to at least try and do her best."

"Well, life is only what you make of it, after all," notes Zack confidently. "You can't get anywhere unless you pick yourself back up."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Porcupine."

Both boys' hearts nearly leapt out of their chests upon hearing the mysterious third voice. They turn to see the bedroom door slide open to reveal a rather disheveled Zen back in her trademark red tank top and blue jeans with her black hair loosely tied up and Zack-like bangs bouncing over her smiling face. She looked as fit as a fiddle, as if nothing seriously bad had ever happened to her.

"Zen! What on Gaia—" began Zack before he was swiftly interrupted by the girl.

"I'm not going to be kept down by one measly flesh wound," declares Zen proudly, putting one hand on her hip.

"Are you sure you should be walking around?" Kunsel asks worriedly. "You did have a sword go through you, after all."

"Sure I am!" says Zen, laughing out loud until she lets out a sharp wince and hugs her stomach with both arms.

"You ran away from the infirmary, didn't you?" thought Zack, sending a frown towards the girl.

"Of course not," returns Zen, who then winces from another stab of pain. "Okay, maybe I did."

"Zen!" chastises Kunsel.

"It's allright, I'm at least 80% good," asserts the teenage girl, smiling at her friends.

"You know, my father has this saying," begins Zack. "He once told me, 'you don't pick apples before they're ready. They're just not as good as the ones that are'."

"Okay, okay, I get the message," groans Zen, managing half of a smile. "But I was going to go crazy in there surrounded by anything and everything white. My eyes begged for color. I'd rather be holed up in here than that madhouse."

"Well, I guess it's okay if you go to the training facility with us," suggests Kunsel.

"Hey, if you're up for training than so am I," asserts the girl firmly, pointing out Kunsel's leg injury.

"I didn't say anything about training," speaks up the brunette, much to the surprise of Zack who genuinely thought Kunsel was actually going to train. "It seems Zack can't even step foot in the training facility without us there."

"Porcupine! Have you been neglecting training because of us?" demanded Zen, putting her fists on her hips angrily. Then, in the next moment, her sudden anger gives way to full awareness as she realizes why. "Although, I'm flattered you need Kunsel and me to escort you to training."

"W-wait a second!" exclaims Zack nervously, holding up his hands. "It's not like that at all!"

"D'aww, Porcupine misses us so much, he couldn't bear to do anything without us," Zen banters on, locking her hands behind her head as a grin overtook her face.

"No! I-I just figured that as long as we all go together, you guys won't get left behind in the training, that's all," stutters Zack, trying to cover himself. "Plus, it's near the infirmary so if anything happens, we're taking you out." He then looks at Kunsel, who was snickering quietly. "You, too."

"No disagreements here," responds Kunsel nonchalantly, smiling hard to stop snickering.

With cheeks burning red with embarrassment, Zack rushes to the bureau to take out Zen's uniform and tosses the clothes at her.

"Just go get changed already," he huffs anxiously.

Catching her uniform effortlessly, Zen grins happily as she heads to the bathroom to change.

* * *

**A/N:** Too much testosterone in this chapter, we need some estrogen, stat! Oh wait, Zen's back. Heh…


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Another year passes as Zack, Kunsel, and Zen continued their training and were sent on even more field missions. They witnessed much death and despair on the battlefield as many of their comrades fell to their enemies, memories of lands littered with bodies filling the innermost sectors of their minds. But still they push on, their dream of making it into SOLDIER keeping them going despite the horrors of battle. If not for their undying determination, they would've deserted a long time ago like any sane person would. Which then raised questions of whether or not they were still sane to begin with.

But why think of such things when there are more important matters to attend to?

"Porcupine! Which sushi do you want?"

"Eh?" Zack looks up from a protocol book he was reading and steps out of the study towards the common room.

There, he sees Zen still dressed in her trooper uniform and holding a plastic bag that seems to contain some sort of square-like container. She places it on the table and takes off her helmet to relieve her mussed up bangs, which seem to have clung to her face due to static.

About that time, Kunsel saunters out of the bedroom in his casual outfit of a dark blue t-shirt and a pair of khaki pants. Zack was still in his uniform pants, though he wore a white undershirt since his uniform top was left on his bed after he had come back from training.

"Did you say slushie?" wonders Kunsel curiously.

"_Sushi_," Zen corrects him as she places her helmet on the table. "You've never heard of it?"

"Nope," replies Kunsel and Zack in unison.

"Good grief, you really are country bumpkins, aren't ya?" sighs Zen as she scratches her head.

Taking the Styrofoam container out of the plastic bag, Zen flips open the attached lid to show a colorful array of small circular and oval slices of rice mixed with bits and pieces of unfamiliar food items.

"So what is it?" asks Zack, leaning over the table to get a better look.

"Try it first and then I'll tell you," answers Zen, curling her lips up into a pouty smile.

The two boys shoot each other a glance before each grabbing one of the rice ovals covered in pink. Zen watches eagerly as they chew the finger food up while curiosity adorn their faces. She smiles when they finally swallow the mysterious bites.

"That was… interesting," asserts Kunsel.

"Not much for the texture, but I sort of like the taste," admits Zack.

"Okay, now that you've tried it plain, try it with soy sauce!" exclaims the teenage girl as she whips up a small bowl of blackish brown liquid.

Once again, Zack and Kunsel look at one another before each picking up another pink-covered rice oval and dip it into the questionable sauce before repeating the same cycle of thorough chewing and swallowing.

"Hmm, that was a little better," says Kunsel.

"I think I got too much of the sauce on mine," adds Zack, making a face. "But it's not so bad."

"Allright, we did what you asked so what _is_ this stuff?" wonders Kunsel, turning to Zen.

"What you guys just ate…" begins Zen with an unsettling grin plastered on her face. "…was basically raw fish."

Suddenly, a dark shadow fell over both boys' heads as they drop their jaws in utter shock.

"You gave us _what_?" they yell out.

"Hey, you said you liked it," Zen points out.

"_Raw_ fish?" exclaims Zack, who grabs his throat and sticks out his tongue. "I ate _raw_ fish?"

"E-everything's getting blurry…" stutters Kunsel, doubling over his knees after witnessing Zack's reaction. "I… I think I'm dying."

"Oh my goodness, you guys are _such_ drama queens!" exclaims Zen, throwing up her arms in exasperation and rolling her eyes. "As long as the fish is fresh and handled properly, raw fish can be as safe as cooked fish, for cryin' out loud."

"I can't believe I ate raw fish," winces Kunsel.

"I just figured we should train our stomachs as well as our muscles," utters Zen, crossing her arms in disappointment. "But I guess that's too much of an expectation of you guys."

She glances over to see both boys lying on the floor, clutching their stomachs.

"Would you just get up already?" she yells at them and slams a hand on the table, her cheeks flushed warm with anger. "I figured you guys would react this way so I bought some with cooked seafood! Yeesh!"

Slowly and steadily, one black spiked head rises up and peeks over the table's edge at the container.

"Guess the captain isn't the only one without a sense of humor," chuckles Zack.

Before the boy could blink, his face met head-on with the business end of Zen's helmet, causing him to cry out and fall back in pain. As Zack lies on the floor with his hands on his face and wincing, the teenage girl angrily stomps towards the bedroom, the door sliding swiftly open and shut in her wrath.

Meanwhile, Kunsel looks over at Zack with a surprised look on his face after realizing he doesn't actually feel sick.

"Wait, so sushi really is safe to eat?" he asks innocently.

* * *

One week later, the three of them found themselves on a ship to Costa del Sol on yet another field mission. Accompanying them was 23-year-old Angeal, a First Class SOLDIER who discovers first-hand just how much of a handful the three of them were going to be. Well, Zack and Zen anyways.

"So what's our mission today?" wonders Kunsel, looking up at Angeal.

"There seems to be a large influx of Beachplugs to the south of Costa del Sol," briefs the SOLDIER member. "Our mission is basically population control."

"So we're basically fighting seafood?" Zack asks playfully.

The only response he gets was a punch on the arm from Zen, who frowns at him for reminding her of that day.

Angeal looks on curiously and turns to Kunsel. "Is this normal?"

"Pretty much," responds the brunette, laughing nervously.

"I said I was sorry!" returned Zack, rubbing his arm. "Geez, have you been sneaking in extra hours at the training center?"

Angeal simply sighs and rubs his temple with a hand. "This is going to be a _long_ day."

* * *

Once they land at Costa del Sol, the four of them are driven down to their destination via a Shin-Ra-built 5-seat car with the help of a Turk by the name of Cicero. Angeal didn't take much notice of the blonde man whereas Zack was talking up a storm.

"So, what do the Turks do?" wonders Zack.

"We do investigations for Shin-Ra," explains Circero, trying to remain as vague as possible. He didn't want to let on that Turks recruit members of SOLDIER, as he didn't want to have to deal with the typical song-and-dance many a trooper has done in order to impress their way into SOLDIER. Not that they would get in even if they tried, anyhow.

"And then troopers and SOLDIER members are sent in if something requires more force, correct?" assumes Kunsel.

"Pretty much," affirms Cicero.

"Oh, you work together with SOLDIER, too?" says Zack, lifting the tip of his helmet eagerly with one hand. "So do you know what it takes to get into SOLDIER?"

Cicero glances at Zack for a moment and turns his eyes back on the road. He doesn't quite know what to make of the boy. He behaves as eager as the other Shin-Ra troopers who seek to become members of SOLDIER, but something about him gives off the feeling that he could actually be a decent candidate. He wonders to himself why.

"I wouldn't know," Cicero says at last, which is partially the truth since each member of SOLDIER was recruited on different circumstances, though similar standards. "Just because we work together, doesn't mean we know how the other works. Isn't that right, Sir Angeal?"

"I know about as much as you when it comes to the Turks," the First Class SOLDIER remarks to Zack, still keeping his gaze towards the passing scenery outside.

"So much for that," sighs Zack, slumping back in his seat in disappointment.

Cicero turns his attention to the female trooper sitting next to him on the passenger side, who hasn't spoken a word since he met the four of them at the docks. He could sense there was some sort of dissonance between her and the one named Zack. He recalls the two were previously on friendly terms so he was quite curious as to what had transpired between them to cause this.

But any questions he had would have to wait as they finally reached their destination. Peering outside, the three troopers and Angeal could see the numerous shellfish armed with tentacles crawling all over the sandy shore.

"That's… a lot of seafood to go through," exclaims Zack, his eyes wide with shock at the sheer number of Beachplugs.

"There's got to be at least 100 out there," adds Kunsel as the vehicle came to a full stop.

Zen plops on her helmet and glances over towards the boys. "What's the matter? Scared?"

"Pfft, not me," asserts Zack, putting on his helmet as well.

Kunsel simply lets out a sigh as he puts his helmet on and gets out of the car along with his friends. Zack and Zen have been on a rather competitive mood lately, trying to outdo each other when it came to feats of strength and fighting prowess. It wasn't like Kunsel couldn't hold his own when it came to fighting; he's come quite a long way and has managed to step up a notch in terms of offensive power. He could very well hold up against Zack or Zen, if he wanted to. But as strong as he has gotten, Kunsel was still of the mind to be more on the passive side of things when it came down to it. Though he has noted that Zack and Zen were starting to even out in terms of personality: Zack was becoming a lot more brazen than he did before, while Zen is significantly more tame than in days past. It was like they are two opposite halves of the same soul and gradually reaching equilibrium. It was certainly a strange change, but a change that Kunsel kind of liked a little. It did make the two _much_ easier to deal with.

Cicero decides to stand near the car, fully prepared to move out of the way should it become necessary. Angeal, on the other hand, joins up with the three troopers standing near the edge of the bed of Beachplugs.

"So, uh, how should we go about doing this?" wonders Zack when Angeal came near. He draws his sword and waits for his superior's orders.

"Well, if each of us take on about twenty-five to thirty of these guys, we should have most of them cleared out," suggests the First Class SOLDIER. "That's not a problem, is it?"

"Twenty-five to thirty, huh?" spoke up Zen with a smirk, taking out her sword and gripping handle with both hands. "And here I thought we were going to get a challenge."

Angeal raises an eyebrow as he watches both Zen and Zack race into the midst of the Beachplug bed and began hacking away at the shellfish. Taking out his own Shin-Ra standard sword, Angeal begins fighting alongside the troopers. He turns to see Kunsel was already making short work of ten Beachplugs. No move was wasted as each of the young troopers fiercely lowered the number of shellfish. The First Class SOLDIER was somewhat surprised by the overall atmosphere of confidence as he slices three Beachplugs in one swipe. Many of the infantrymen he worked with in the past would shiver in their boots at the mere sight of five monsters, let alone a whole group like this. His mind thought the 16-year-olds were simply trying to show off, but deep down he could tell that they were really putting their spirit into their fighting. He was especially keen on Zack, whose fighting conduct left much to be desire despite his great strength.

_With the proper training, he could be the one who could help me achieve my dream_, thought Angeal.

Angeal wasn't the only one paying attention to what was going on as Cicero was taking careful note of each of the teenage troopers as well. The Turk had his eyes on Zen, who was of special interest to him as she fought with a unique style he recognized as very Wutai in origin. His research on the girl lead to him to believe that she may have traitorous intentions due to the fact that she was trained by a warrior from Wutai. But she has yet to do anything suspicious to warrant an arrest. If it is in fact not the case that Zen is a Wutai spy, then she could be good use to Shin-Ra in more ways than one.

Just as the beach was getting quite empty of Beachplugs, the ground beneath began to quake roughly and violently. Zack, Kunsel, and Zen all try to maintain their footing while Angeal tries to make sense of what was going on.

_Only a certain area of earth is moving…_ he thought. _Which means…_

Before anyone could say a word, the ground underneath the teenagers began rising up. Angeal watches in shock as what looked like a very big sandy bubble made itself known as a giant turtle. A giant turtle that was _very_ unhappy having three Shin-Ra troopers seemingly dancing around on its back.

_Impossible!_ thought Angeal as he races towards his subordinates.

"Wha-what's an Adamantoise doing here?" Kunsel cries out in surprise. "They usually reside around the Wutai area."

"Well, it looks like this one got bored and went on a vacation!" responds Zack, using his sword to keep himself from falling over.

"That must explain why so many Beachplugs appeared here!" affirms Zen. "They were feeding on the Adamantoise's leftovers!"

"Well, we'd better be careful or else _we'll_ be the monster's next batch of leftovers!" warns Kunsel.

Due to the giant turtle's rather smooth shell, the teenagers were unable to get a proper footing and ended up sliding off in different directions. Unfortunately for Kunsel, he slides off towards the turtle's horned head, which was less than pleased to have some extra weight sitting upon it.

With a mightily irritated roar, the turtle flings the young man high into the air, his helmet flying off in another direction. As it did so, Zen makes a dash for it with her sword, but only manages to scratch the surface of its shell as the turtle plows right into her. The girl falls back but lands gracefully on her feet as she catches a second wind, her helmet landing elsewhere. Meanwhile, Zack makes his move and catches his sword into the side of the turtle's exposed body underneath the shell. The Adamantoise screeched out in pain as Zack digs his sword deeper into the reptile's leathery flesh and then runs the blade along its body, finishing off his Sidhazzard Limit Break near the tail end of the beast.

The turtle turns its head towards the young man and prepares to gore him into the ground when Zen unleashes her Whirlwind Limit Break upon the creature, becoming a veritable shredder as she slices up the turtle this way and that. As soon as she was done, Kunsel drops down from above and delivers the final blow upon the creature with his Cosmic Spearhead Limit Break.

The Adamantoise lets out one last bellow and falls to the ground with a massive thud, shaking the earth around it. Not long after, its body is engulfed by trails of glowing green as the Lifestream takes the creature into its embrace. Zack, Kunsel, and Zen all watch in awe as the giant turtle's body faded away, leaving behind nothing but a shallow crater in the midst of the beach where it fell.

"So," Zack breathes heavily, turning to Zen. "Was that challenging enough?"

"I guess," Zen breathes back, withdrawing her sword.

"I think I might need a chiropractor," groans Kunsel, cracking his back as he straightens up.

"Yeah, you got tossed up pretty high," chuckles Zen, rubbing her nose with one finger. "Thought you were going to land in the Corel desert or something."

"I'm glad _that_ didn't happen," spoke up Zack as he takes off his helmet, painfully recalling a previous mission they were on in which they got lost in the Corel Desert for over a week and actually contemplated cannibalism.

The sound of footsteps approaching causes them to turn to see Angeal coming up to them with a rather interested look on his face. If they didn't know any better, they'd think the First Class SOLDIER seemed to actually be impressed by what they've done.

"You guys did a pretty good job on that Adamantoise," praises Angeal, crossing his arms.

"Really?" exclaims Kunsel with a look of utter disbelief on his face. "You think we did a good job?"

"Not just good," adds Angeal. "I'd say it's the best teamwork I've seen from troopers yet. You managed to destroy it before it could cast its barrier spells."

"That thing has barrier spells?" exclaims Zen in shock.

"Wait a minute," says Angeal upon hearing the girl's outburst. He raises an eyebrow in confusion. "You mean you didn't kill it quickly with the intent to prevent it from casting spells?"

"No idea," says Zack, shrugging his shoulders along with Zen.

"I mean, I knew what the creature was," spoke up Kunsel. "But I didn't read up on what spells it casts."

Now Angeal was looking more perplexed than before. "So you three attacked that thing without an actual battle plan?"

"Nope," answers Zen, crossing her hands behind her head. "When we got lost in the Corel Desert one time, we ran into a Land Worm, which wasn't a very pleasant experience, let me tell ya. We defeated it by going all out on it so from that day forward, our usual solution for fighting insanely huge monsters was just to attack the crap out of it until it dies."

Both Zack and Kunsel chuckle nervously in agreement.

Angeal simply lays the palm of his hand over his face as he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You've _got_ to be kidding me…"

Nearby, Cicero lets out a big smile as he watches the scene unfold before him.

"These kids are really something," he admits, shaking his head.

* * *

**A/N:** Can you say dumb luck? XD What a silly trio.

Oh, and none of the Limit Breaks featured here are actually in any of the Final Fantasy VII compilations. Although, Zack's Sidhazzard is supposed to be based on Cloud's Climhazzard, except Sidhazzard goes sideways whereas Climhazzard goes upwards.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The next morning, Zack, Kunsel, and Zen awaken to suit up for another day at the training center since they did not have any mission scheduled until next week. With helmets in arms, the three head over to the common area of their suite together.

"How's the back, Kunsel?" Zen wonders.

"It's a little better thanks to you," admits Kunsel, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. "Though I have to wonder if it really _was_ back therapy you did to me last night."

"Oh, don't be such a pansy," huffs the teenage girl, putting a fist on her hip. "Stepping on one's back is one of the best ways to realign the spine. Besides, it's not like I'm heavy or anything."

"Yeah, you're so light, I didn't think you did anything significant," remarks Zack with a grin.

He immediately covers his head with his arms when Zen flashes a glare at him in response.

"Just you wait until we get to the training center, Porcupine," she warns him.

Zack chuckles as the girl pushes the button near the front door to make it slide open.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?"

Inside the office of the Shin-Ra headquarters in Junon, a short-haired brunette turns to face her blonde-haired associate.

"They're getting to the peak of their game," notes Cicero, brushing a stray tuft of hair out off of his face with his hand. "It's best to have the Mako treatments done while they're still in their teens. Their bodies won't accept it as easily if they get it in later."

The brunette turns her attention back towards the office windows overlooking the bay. "I have no qualms about the boys, but I don't know about the girl."

"Still worried about her Wutai connections?" wonders Cicero.

"If she's a Wutai loyalist, giving her the Mako treatments will seriously backfire," articulates the brunette.

"Always putting things into perspective, aren't you, Dame Amira?" Cicero walks over to his fellow Turk and stares out towards the sea along with her. "If it bothers you that much, we could always put her through an assessment."

"You know how the boss is," responds the woman. "It's not like we can afford to haphazardly let in a Wutai spy."

"Ah, yes, Sir Veld," said Cicero with a passive expression. "He's certainly gotten his hands full after what happened with Sir Einar." He stops for a moment as he realizes something and turns to his female comrade. "You're afraid of another Sir Einar incident, aren't you?"

Amira continues to keep her gaze towards the window. "How can I focus on our work when there's the possibility of betrayal within the ranks?"

"Heh," Cicero turns around and leans his back gently upon the glass of the window. "Just because he didn't do his job, that doesn't mean he's a traitor."

"I don't want to talk about this any more," asserts the woman, turning around to head for the door. "You take care of the three troopers."

"Of course," Cicero smiles as he watches his fellow Turk walk off. "I've always been more of a scribe than you anyhow."

"Humph," exclaims Amira, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Zen grips the handle of her Shin-Ra standard sword as she faces Zack in the midst of a forest clearing, their infantry helmets laid scattered on the ground. Both had been fighting each other fiercely, sweat dripping down the sides of their heads as they panted heavily. The teenagers were obviously at a standoff, waiting for the right moment to deliver the final strike.

A leaf blows by and in an instant the two rush at each other with their swords at the ready, yelling out with all their might. A flash appears as their swords clang against each other, the intensity rippling through the air like a raging flood until they finally land in directions opposite to where they were before. For a while, neither made any move to speak, simply standing where they landed with swords still gripped tightly in their gloved hands.

Suddenly, Zack and Zen both fall to the ground, utterly exhausted. The two were battered and bruised from the ferocity of their duel, but still managed to get to their feet after a few minutes of brief rest. The world around them began to pixelate away as they turn to face each other with smiles on their dirtied faces.

"Good show," affirms Zen, holding out her hand all sportsman-like. "Porcupine."

"Thanks," responds Zack, grabbing her hand and giving a firm shake of agreement. "You're not so bad yourself."

Moments later, the door to the training room slides open and in walked Kunsel with helmet in hand.

"You guys have gotten pretty strong now," he notes sheepishly.

"Don't sell yourself so short," spoke up Zack, putting a hand on Kunsel's shoulder. "You're pretty strong, too, you know."

"I guess," chuckles Kunsel. "Then again, all I did was just fight data of my previous levels. Why don't you guys fight your own data?"

"Fighting someone is a lot better than dealing with your own data," explains Zen, crossing her arms. "I mean, you already know your own strengths and weaknesses, whereas with a live opponent, you have to learn to think on your feet." She points to her head. "No matter how advance technology gets, nothing can substitute the mind."

"That's right," agrees Zack. He goes over to pick up his helmet. "Simulations can only get you so far."

"I suppose," responds Kunsel.

The three of them leave the simulation room together and walk outside to be greeted with a cool breeze from the nighttime air. The whole of Junon was blanketed in the blue light of the full moon overhead, creating various shades of blue wherever it touched.

"Hey, check out the ocean," Zen exclaims, walking over to the railing along the street with her helmet in hand.

The boys follow suit and the teenagers found themselves leaning upon the edge looking out towards the wide expanse of seawater. For a few minutes they stood there drinking in the scenary, until one of them spoke up.

"You know, this looks really nice," said Kunsel. "I never really stopped to look at the ocean like this."

"I would think this is something you're used to, being from Mideel and all," notes Zack.

"Well, the waters around Mideel is nowhere near as polluted as the waters around here," responds Kunsel.

"That _is_ true," agrees Zen. "It's only blue right now because of the moonlight."

A few minutes of silence passes amongst the teenagers. Kunsel puts on his helmet and lays his head on his arms as he stares out into the distance.

"Hey," he says at last. "Do you think… we'll ever get into SOLDIER?"

He turns to look at his two close friends to receive no response from them. Maybe they were thinking what he was thinking, that they were never going to get into SOLDIER. Doomed to be Shin-Ra grunts for the rest of their lives (well, until they retired, that is).

"Sure, we will," Zen exclaims suddenly. "I mean, we did impress that First Class SOLDIER after all."

"More like shock him into dismay," chuckles Zack. "I don't think that dumbfounded look on his face was anywhere near impressed."

"Aww, who cares whether we get into SOLDIER or not?" Zen huffs exasperatedly, clanging her helmet upon the railing in slight frustration. "That doesn't mean we can't be as strong as them."

"Well, actually, we'll never get nearly as strong as them because of their Mako treatments and their use of Materia," articulates Kunsel, tipping the front of his helmet up with a thumb. "We could probably get close, but never stronger."

"Screw their Mako and Materia!" says Zen, plopping her helmet on her head and crossing her arms. "If those jokers won't let us into SOLDIER, we'll just _act_ like we're in SOLDIER. We can still achieve their strength without their status."

"You really think so?" wonders Zack.

"Guys, we've been training diligently for years ever since we joined the Shin-Ra military," responds Zen. "I know we have what it takes to be just as strong and powerful as any member of SOLDIER. And anyone who thinks otherwise must be blind to not see our potential."

"In that case," begins Zack, crossing his arms and facing the girl. "How about we start with cleanliness?"

"EH?" exclaims Zen, looking quite confused.

"Yeah, Zen, I've been meaning to talk to you about that, too," adds Kunsel, hiding his emerald eyes shyly beneath the tip of his helmet.

"About what?" wonders the girl curiously, scratching her cheek.

"DAMN IT, YOU SILLY GIRL, TAKE A FRICKIN' SHOWER!" Zacks explodes angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Zen. "YOU'VE BEEN SKIPPING OUT EVERY WEEK AND I'M GETTING SICK OF IT!"

"Literally," adds Kunsel nervously.

"Do I smell that badly?" Zen raises an arm to sniff her armpit. She shrugs. "Doesn't seem bad to me."

"It's your own scent, of course it wouldn't bother you that much!" continues Zack, feeling even more perturbed that the girl isn't even the least bit concerned with daily hygiene. "But it's not just the smell that bothers me! I can _feel_ the sweat, dirt, and grime reeking off of your body! It's disturbingly sickening!"

"It's pretty bad, Zen," says Kunsel.

"I showered everyday for an entire week this month," argues Zen.

"THAT'S BECAUSE IT WAS THAT TIME OF THE MONTH!" Zack was at his wits end at this point. A veritable vein was visibly throbbing on his forehead, which managed to get Zen feeling a little uneasy. "GAIA, HELP ME, I HAVE NEVER WISHED FOR A WOMAN TO BE ON HER PERIOD FOR LONGER THAN A WEEK!"

"That's… pretty serious," points out Kunsel.

"Huh, I would think guys usually run for the hills when a girl has PMS," Zen puts a hand on her hip and raises an eyebrow dubiously.

"That's the thing with you, Zen," begins Zack, rubbing the side of his temple with a hand. "You… _don't_… get… PMS."

"But I _do_ get PMS," retorts Zen. "I _am_ a girl, after all."

"Fine! I'll play devil's advocate!" exclaims Zack, throwing his arms up. "You get PMS, but you don't show it like every other female human being on the planet, you strange little creature!"

"A unique trait of yours I admire," adds Kunsel.

Zack grabs Kunsel by the collar of the boy's uniform and glares at him with furrowed brows. "You are _not_ making the situation any better."

"Okay, okay, I get the message!" responds Zen, putting her hands up in defeat. "I never expected _men_, of all things, to be obsessed with bathing."

Zack was about to say something more, but Kunsel dashes in between the two to prevent things from going even more out of hand.

"Aaaand how about we leave it at that?" he chuckles nervously.

* * *

**A/N:** Zen seems a little _too_ Zen, if you know what I mean. ^^; Good thing there's no girl like her in real life… Or IS there? D8

Einar refers to the legendary Turk from Before Crisis. (Not his real name, mind you.) Don't worry, the story's still SOLDIER-centered. I just wanted to develop my original Turk characters a bit.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Two weeks pass by as Zack, Kunsel, and Zen kept training and going on missions. Ever since that full moon night, the teenagers have been working even harder to become stronger. But at the end of each and every day, they continuously wonder if their efforts would really make much of a difference. With each SOLDIER member they're assigned to, more and more doubts bubble up within the back of their minds. Could hard work truly be enough to match the strength and power of a member of SOLDIER? Is all their training just for naught when their abilities are compared to the might of a member of SOLDIER?

The Wutai War was not going to last forever, nor will the three of them will retain their youthfulness for long. They couldn't keep going like this if nothing comes of it in the end. What was the point? They might as well return to their hometowns and forget about the whole thing.

But that wasn't an option. Not for Zack, who dreams of becoming a First Class SOLDIER and besting the best of them all: Sephiroth. Despite getting stronger, the sword he wielded got heavier. It wasn't the sword that was weighing him down, but his own pessimism. When he watches Zen train, he could see that she had something that he didn't have. It wasn't appearance and gender that differentiated them, nor was it social status. It was something else and it's been bothering Zack for some time now.

While Zen and Kunsel were off in another mission, Zack decides to wander around Junon on his own. Dressed in his regular clothes of a grey t-shirt, a pair of jean pants, and hiking boots, he traps himself within his own little world of what-ifs and can-Is. So occupied he was in his thoughts that he failed to avoid running right into someone absentmindedly.

"Oof, sorry about that!" he quips immediately as he snapped back to reality.

Zack soon discovers that the person he ran into wasn't a civilian that had haphazardly wandered into Junon's upper plate from the seashore below, nor was it even another fellow infantryman. As Zack's eyes slowly made their way upwards, he soon realizes that this was the last person he wanted to run into so clumsily.

Because it was someone he knew.

"Hello, Zack," greeted Angeal with one eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Any particular reason you decided to walk right into me?"

"Angeal!" the boy nearly shrieks and quickly composes himself before the older man. "I-I didn't see you there."

The First Class SOLDIER crosses his arms and looks at the young man curiously. "I'm the only thing around and in plain sight."

"Indeed you were," agrees Zack, chuckling uncomfortably. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go jump off the nearest bridge out of sheer embarrassment."

"No need to do that now," responds Angeal with a smile as he watches Zack actually attempt to walk towards the railing. "Especially not someone who's got what it takes to get into SOLDIER."

Zack stops in his tracks and turns slowly with a look of utter disbelief all over his face.

"W-what?" he stutters. "S-seriously? You think so?"

"Are you calling me a liar?" quips Angeal.

"No, no, no, not at all!" Zack slurs altogether as he waves his hands in front of him. "I just didn't… expect…"

Angeal chuckles and walks over to the boy to lay a hand on his shoulder. "You're SOLDIER material, Zack. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Heh," sighs Zack as he walks over to the railing overlooking the sea and stares out at the open waters. "Someone once told me something to that effect."

Angeal joins him and the two gaze out at the glistening surface of the ocean. "That someone is very wise." He turns to look at the young man. "You're pretty close to your friends, aren't you?" he wonders.

"They're like the siblings I never had," articulated Zack, his gaze still locked on the ocean. He shakes his head. "No, they _are_ the siblings I never had."

"It's good to have someone you can depend on," says Angeal.

"You've got friends, too?" asks Zack, turning to face the SOLDIER member. It was hard to believe someone as stoic as Angeal would depend on anyone else, let alone have close friends of his own.

"Of course," answers the man. "I've known my best friend since we were kids. And my other friend… heh, let's just say he's sort of a celebrity in his own right."

"Sounds like someone needs to get off his high horse," chuckles Zack, not realizing who Angeal was talking about.

"Oh, you have no idea," Angeal laughs alongside him as images of Sephiroth came up in his mind.

"You know, Angeal. You're pretty cool for a member of SOLDIER," asserts Zack.

"You're not bad yourself," points out Angeal. Then he adds with a smile. "For a Shin-Ra grunt."

"Thanks for reminding me," responds Zack with a pout.

"Hey, everyone has to start somewhere, right?" says Angeal. "If you want, I can help you train."

"Really?" Zack's eyes lit up like holiday lights. "You mean it?"

"Sure, you've got what it takes," asserts Angeal. "You just need to refine your skills a little more."

"Gee, thanks, Angeal!" says Zack as he wraps his hands behind his head. "That'd be awesome!"

"We'll start after your next mission," suggests Angeal. "I won't be going back to Midgar for a while anyhow."

"Okay," agrees Zack. He then began to run back to his suite, but after a few steps, he turns to wave back at the First Class SOLDIER one more time. "Thanks again!"

Angeal watches as Zack runs off, silently hoping the young man would be prepared for what was to come. Angeal knew what awaits those that get into SOLDIER and it wasn't something meant for the weak of hearts. Turning around, he heads back to the Junon offices to hear of the final verdict of the Turks' deliberations.

* * *

Zen and Kunsel had just come back from their mission when Zack nearly bursts through the sliding door minutes after they had entered the suite. The two stare at the excited young man perplexed as they take off their helmets and lay them on the common room table.

"What's got you all worked up?" asks Zen with a smirk and crosses her arms.

"You'll never guess who I was talking to earlier!" Zack responds with a grin that seemed to stretch from ear to ear.

"… A woman that's actually interested in you?" banters Kunsel.

Zen busts out laughing upon hearing that and gives him a high-five.

"Oh, ha ha," says Zack sarcastically. "For your information, I happen to run into Angeal."

"Did you knock him over?" Zen asks with a smirk.

Now it was Kunsel's turn to snigger. He and Zen give each other another high-five in response as Zack looks despondently on and crosses his arms annoyingly.

"No, he nearly knocked me over," he quietly mutters.

"Sorry, Porcupine, we just needed to let loose. It's been a long day," apologized Zen as she wipes a tear from her eye. "So what's the deal with Angeal?"

"Well, you guys won't believe it, but…" began Zack. "Angeal is going to personally train me."

"Really?" exclaims Zen with eyes wide with surprise. "That's cool."

"Congratulations, Zack," adds Kunsel with a grin. "It's not everyday a member of SOLDIER is willing to help out one of us meager infantrymen."

"You guys aren't upset?" Zack raises a questionable eyebrow.

"No, why would we be?" wonders Zen, equally perplexed.

"I mean, he's going to train only me, after all…" Zack drifts off. He scratches the side of his head with a finger as he looks at his friends meekly. "I thought you guys would be kind of sad about that."

"Zack, we're not going to be able to do everything together, you know," spoke up Kunsel. "It's just impossible, considering the nature of our jobs and all."

"Kunsel's right," agrees Zen. "You should make the best of it. Don't worry about us."

"But, what if I get really strong and you guys aren't…" points out Zack.

"What did I tell you, Porcupine?" Zen sighs and puts her hands on her hips. "We're all going to get strong no matter what, SOLDIER or not."

"It'll be fine, Zack," assures Kunsel, putting a hand on Zack's shoulder. "We'll do what we can. Don't worry."

"How can you guys tell me not to worry?" Zack gently shrugs off Kunsel's hand and walks towards the door so he wouldn't face his friends. "I want to get into SOLDIER so bad. And when Angeal offered to help me train, I was so excited…" He turns to face his friends sadly. "But when I saw you two, I realized that if I go through with this, I won't be able to be with you guys anymore." He lowers his head and clenches his fists as he felt the frustration burning up inside of him. "Stop being so supportive of this. I don't want to get into SOLDIER by myself, I want all of us to get in together!"

For a few minutes, Zen and Kunsel just stood there in their infantryman uniforms, unsure of what to say. Of course they felt the same sentiments and Zack knew it. He didn't like that they were so supportive of him when deep down he knew they were sadden by the news. With a sigh, Zen walks over to him and places her hands on his shoulders.

"Zack…" she began. Zack looks up to peer into Zen's hazel eyes. It was the first time in years she called him by his name since they met. "We all knew from the beginning it wouldn't be possible. The chances of all three of us getting into SOLDIER at the same time are one in a million. It's nothing more than an impossible dream. We have to accept that."

She could feel Zack's body relax a bit under her touch. "Why…" he asks meekly.

"Train with Angeal, Zack," said Kunsel. "Train and get into SOLDIER. Don't let us get in the way."

"We'll catch up to you," assures Zen with as she releases Zack from her hold.

"Promise?" asks Zack.

Smiling, Zen puts out her hand palms down. Understanding the gesture, Kunsel lays his hand on hers. They look to Zack, who reluctantly places his hands on top of theirs.

"It's a promise."

* * *

**A/N:** Don't you just hate it when life doesn't go the way you wish it would?


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

In the next few days, the barrack suite became a little more upbeat compared to days past. Zack, Kunsel, and Zen have come to accept their career destiny, whatever they may be, more positively. The sixteen-year-olds still dreamt of entering the ranks of SOLDIER, although with a much more different outlook than before. The night before the day that Zack was to begin training under the watchful eyes of Angeal, Zen and Kunsel were more than happy to give Zack a good luck party. Truly, between the party poppers and the random Cactuar-in-a-cake (which the captured Cactuar was none too happy about and promptly gave Zack the present of 100 Needles, much to his chagrin), if they were any happier the Junon barracks would be nonexistent. Luckily, Zack firmly declined Zen's proposal of shooting questionable fireworks off the Shin-Ra helipad, as that would've been a little much (too much in Kunsel's eyes).

The next morning, Kunsel and Zen went to see Zack off, who had already gotten suited up in his infantryman uniform.

"Good luck, Zack," Kunsel wishes warmly with a smile.

"Don't give the poor guy a nervous breakdown now," Zen laughs as she gave Zack a pat on the back.

"Isn't that _your_ job?" retorts the young man with a grin.

Strapping his sword to his back, Zack proceeds to press the button next to the entry sliding door panel. Right when the metal panel moved, something floats into the entryway and lands right at Kunsel's feet.

"Huh, what's this?" exclaims Kunsel as he picks up what looks to be a manila envelope.

Curious, Zen and Zack both peer over to check out the label.

"It's addressed to all three of us," notes Zen.

Kunsel undoes the string on the envelope and takes out a rather official-looking letter written on Shin-Ra military stationary. Intrigued by the important appearance of the document, the three of them stood where they were to read what was on the letter, ignoring the fact that the front door has already closed itself in the meantime.

_To Infantrymen Kunsel, Zack, and Zen of Barrack 626,_

_It is with great pleasure that I declare that the three of you have been selected to join the ranks of SOLDIER. Your exceptional abilities and unparallel strength goes above and beyond what we expect of members of the world-renowned Shin-Ra army and for that you have been recommended for SOLDIER candidacy._

_From this day forward, you will be known as Third Class SOLDIER Kunsel, Third Class SOLDIER Zack, and Third Class SOLDIER Zen. Please report to the Junon branch of the Shin-Ra headquarters at 1800 hours to receive your official SOLDIER uniforms. Tomorrow at 0800 hours, the three of you will be taken to Midgar, where all members of SOLDIER are trained and stationed._

_Congratulations and good luck on your future endeavors!_

_Cicero_

Three pairs of eyes stare widely at the letter in complete disbelief. The teenagers could never imagine such a rare event would ever come to pass and here they were making history. For a few minutes, total silence reigned in the suite as the reality of it all slowly sunk in. Things were so quiet that the sound of Zack's helmet dropping to the floor seemed to echo throughout the suite.

The three of them look to one another with mouths and eyes wide opened as if to understand if what they read was real.

"A-are we dreaming?" Zack speaks up at last.

Almost immediately, Zen and Kunsel pinch Zack's cheeks, to which he cries out in surprise.

"Ow! Why'd you have to pinch _my_ cheeks?" exclaims Zack with a frown as he rubs the sides of his face with both hands to relieve the pain.

"Feels real to me," asserts Zen, turning to Kunsel.

"Same here," adds Kunsel with a nod.

Then suddenly, the three of them began jumping up and down and screaming about excitedly.

"We're in SOLDIER! We did it! We're in SOLDIER!"

"Oh my gosh, we did it, guys!" Zen nearly yells out as she wraps her arms around each boy's head.

"I can't believe this is really happening!" exclaims Kunsel, brushing his spikey hair back with a hand in astonishment. "I mean, seriously, _all three of us_?"

"This is the greatest day of my LIFE!" whoops Zack, shooting a fist into the air triumphantly.

After much joyous traipsing about and more shouts of jubilations, the three teenagers gradually began to wind down as their enthusiastic energy dissipated.

"Man, who would've thought we'd all get in at the same time," breathed Kunsel.

"This… This is unbelievable," exclaims Zack. He struggles to steady his feet as he tries to sit down on a chair. "I mean, the chances…"

"Do you think…" began Zen, looking over to Zack after she takes her arms off the boys. "Angeal knew?"

"It is kind of weird that he would offer to train Zack and then a few days later we get this," thought Kunsel. "He probably knew Zack specifically would get in."

"Then where would that put us?" wonders Zen, locking her hands behind her head in thought.

"Who cares?" Zack jumps up out of his seat. "What matters most is that we _all_ got in. The is the beginning of something great!"

"You're right, Zack," Kunsel nods in agreement. "We finally made it. We achieved our dream."

"Well, this is just the first step for us," Zen crosses her arms. "You read what the letter said. We're only Third Class. Sephiroth and Angeal are both up in the First Class tier. That's where we should be."

"We'll get there soon enough," Zack picks his helmet off the floor and heads for the door. "Let's go out and celebrate when I get back."

"Ooh, can we finally use the firecrackers I got?" Zen asks eagerly, twiddling her fingers in a sinister manner.

"Zen, those are not firecrackers, they're questionable explosives," argues Kunsel.

"You mean they're questionably _awesome_," retorts the girl with a grin that was far too eager for comfort.

"Regardless of what they are, we are certainly _not_ shooting them off the helipad."

"Oh, why not?"

"Because…"

With a chuckle, Zack leaves his friends to their bickering as he heads over to the training center where Angeal was waiting.

* * *

Leaning on the outer wall of the training facility, Angeal hangs his head in thought with arms crossed as the Buster Sword glistened behind him. Upon the sound of approaching footsteps, he looks up to see Zack in his infantryman attire with a big smile on the young man's face.

"What's with the grin?" wonders Angeal with a smirk.

"Like you don't know," responds Zack.

"Know what?" returned Angeal with a raised brow.

"I've been accepted into SOLDIER," Zack declares proudly.

"Really now?" exclaims Angeal. "I'm impressed. Congratulations."

"Wait, you really didn't know?" Zack puts his hands on his hips, perplexed. "Then why did you offer to train me?"

"First of all, I told you before, I don't know how the Turks go about with their SOLDIER candidate selection," reiterated Angeal. "Secondly, I offered to train you because you have a lot of promise. I knew you had a good chance to get in because I recommended you personally."

"Seriously?" exclaims Zack upon hearing that. He points to himself doubtfully. "You really thought I have what it takes?"

"I wouldn't have recommended you if I didn't," replies Angeal.

"Wow, thanks a lot," says Zack. "I was happy when I found out I got in, but I was even happier that Zen and Kunsel got in as well."

A rather astonished look overtook Angeal's face. "Your friends got in, too?"

"They sure did," answered Zack. "I mean, I didn't believe it would actually happen, but it did."

"Huh, isn't that something," Angeal utters quietly. He had not heard of any other member of SOLDIER recommending the other two infantrymen so their chances were slim to none, but their abilities alone were something to behold. It wasn't unusual to have 2-3 candidates enter SOLDIER in a year, but the chances of them knowing each other to the extent of friendship was something different entirely. He would have to investigate into this more when he returns to Midgar.

"So, when do we start?" Zack asks with a grin.

* * *

Around 5:30 PM that evening, Zack, Zen, and Kunsel all reported to the Shin-Ra headquarters all suited up in their infantry uniforms for the very last time. As excited as they were, the teenagers took great care to conduct themselves properly lest they lose their SOLDIER candidacy on grounds of immaturity. (Not that it would happen, but they didn't want to take any chances.)

The three of the stood outside the door of the appointed conference room nervously. The look to each other, each wondering to themselves who is willing to make the first move.

"I'm not doing it," spoke up Kunsel.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, it's a gosh darn door," Zen rolls her eyes underneath her helmet.

"Then why don't _you_ open it then?" suggests Zack. "Ladies first, after all."

"I _hate_ that phrase _so_ much," grumbles Zen. She sighs heavily as she concedes to open the door herself and walk into the room, the boys following behind her accordingly.

The conference room was big enough to accommodate at least 30 people with tables arranged in a rectangular "U" fashion with chairs on the outer part. Farthest from the door was a veritable wall of windows, the view overlooking the Junon harbor. The teenagers could spot three silhouettes near the grid of windows, one being recognizable as Angeal as his Buster Sword can easily be discerned from his form. As they walked closer, they could identify the other two as Turks with their blue suits and ties. One was obviously Circero, but the other was a woman they had seen before wandering around the training facilities from time to time.

Zack, Kunsel, and Zen all line up in a row before them in an about face fashion.

"Sir!" they all shouted, standing as straight as they could.

"At ease, soldiers," responds Angeal, to which the teenagers then switched to a more relaxed position, but still kept their conduct proper.

"I'm sure you all are very excited about this," began Cicero with a warm smile. He points over to one of the tables closest to them where three sets of folded uniforms lay. "Those are your new uniforms. Third Class SOLDIER members are classified with blue uniforms. Red signifies Second Class SOLDIER members while violet signifies First Class SOLDIER status, as you can tell by looking at Sir Angeal."

Angeal crosses his arms in affirmation.

"You are to wear your uniforms at all times while on duty, just like how you do as infantrymen," spoke up Amira. "Tomorrow morning at 0600 hours, you are to turn in your infantryman uniforms and report to the helipad in your SOLDIER uniforms. From there, you will be flown to Midgar where you will receive your new missions as official members of SOLDIER. The SOLDIER barracks in Midgar are somewhat similar to the infantryman barracks here in Junon so don't worry about having to find your way around. Your new room assignments will be given once you arrive there."

"Sir!" responded the teenagers.

"But first," said Amira. "Third Class SOLDIER Zen, please step forward and remove your helmet."

As instructed, Zen takes off her helmet and holds it under her right arm as she steps forward away from her brethren.

"Please state your place of origin," orders Amira.

"Hoku Village of the Eastern Continent, sir!" answers Zen. She wasn't quite sure what was going on as she didn't expect to have to go through some sort of interview, especially in front of Zack and Kunsel.

"Third Class SOLDIER Zen," continues the female Turk. "Is it true you receive combat training from a citizen of Wutai?"

Under their helmets, Zack and Kunsel look to one another nervously. Zen had told them that she received martial arts training from someone who came from Wutai, but they didn't think it was that big of a deal despite them being at war with the country in question. It wasn't like Zen herself was from Wutai or anything.

"Sir, yes sir!" replies Zen. She was starting to feel uncomfortable with them prying into her personal life like this.

"Please relay the details of your relationship with this Wutanese individual," Amira orders firmly. "Starting with the person's name."

"My apologies, but I do not know Teacher's name," explained Zen. "From the day I met him at the age of five, I had always referred to him as Teacher. I have not seen nor heard from him in four years."

"So you lost contact with him at the age of twelve, is that what you're saying?"

"Sir, yes sir!" Zen remained steadfast in her emotions. "I understand your concerns because I received training from a Wutanese, but I assure you that Teacher never forced me to sympathize with Wutai, nor did he force me to think of Shin-Ra as an enemy. Our relationship was purely one of teacher and student focused on the martial arts, nothing more."

Amira looks at Zen incredulously, unsure of what to think.

_This girl must have anticipated this_, she thought. _Yet, both her eyes and words hold no room for doubt. She truly wants to make it clear that she is not a traitor._ She glimpses over at the two boys behind Zen. _Knowing her ties with those two, there's no way she would betray Shin-Ra if it meant putting them in danger._

The female Turk smiles at the girl. "Well said. I have no doubt your loyalty lies with Shin-Ra."

"Thank you, sir!" responds Zen.

"Well then," spoke up Cicero. "Now that _that's_ out of the way, the three of you may now take your uniforms and return to the barracks. Be sure to get a good night's sleep tonight. It's a long way to Midgar from here."

"Sir, yes sir!"

As instructed, the sixteen-year-olds took their uniforms and left the room along with Angeal who had business elsewhere. Once they were all gone, Cicero looks to his comrade with interest.

"You weren't as intensive with that assessment as I thought you would be," he notes with a hint of surprise.

"Now that I've seen their loyalty, I no longer have any problems with her," responds Amira.

Upon hearing this, Cicero's widen slightly. This was certainly a drastic change from before.

"What do you mean by that?" he wonders aloud.

"Whether that girl is loyal to Shin-Ra or not is matters little," began Amira. She turns to face her partner. "So long as those boys remain faithful to the company, she has no choice but to follow suit. And judging from their personalities, the boys won't be likely to turn against Shin-Ra."

Cicero lets out a small chuckle as he scratches the base of his scalp. "I see. I guess that settles that, doesn't it?"

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, you read right, we are FINALLY moving into SOLDIER territory. Although, I'll sadly miss writing about the episodic infantryman days.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The next morning was a flurry of spastic enthusiasm and energy as Zack, Kunsel, and Zen all scramble up to the helipad donning their brand new Third Class SOLDIER uniforms complete with helmets upon all three eager heads. With grins as wide as a half moon, they take their seats upon the leathery cushions of the awaiting helicopter where Angeal and Cicero were already residing on opposite seats.

"Move over, I want the window seat!" Zen exclaims eagerly, roughly shoving Zack to the side.

"Hey, I want the window seat!" the raven-haired boy shouts back, holding a hand over his helmet to keep it on.

"Last I checked, helicopters tend to have windows on both sides," Kunsel sighs and shakes his head, taking his place between his two best friends in order to act as an argument buffer.

"You kids act as if this is the first time you've been on a helicopter," Cicero laughs out loud.

"Well, yeah, we've been on helicopters plenty of times," responds Zack. "But this is the first time we've been on a helicopter as official members of SOLDIER."

"Ah, I see," the Turk smiles warmly.

"Hey, what happen to your lady friend?" wonders Kunsel, referring to the missing Amira.

"She still has some work to do here in Junon," answers Cicero matter-of-factly. "She'll be back in Midgar later."

Angeal says nothing as he turns his gaze out the window.

Once the three teenagers settled themselves in as comfortably as possible, Cicero nods to the pilot to let him know they were ready. The pilot nods back and in a matter of minutes, the helicopter was taking off and flying towards their new destination.

As the airborne helicopter glided over the vast western continent landscape, the previous excitement had died down to a drawling silence within the hold. Staring at Cicero, Kunsel feels his chest heating up as questions linger on his mind, just begging to be asked. The atmosphere in the helicopter was already calm and he didn't want to disturb it with Zen and Zack around, but it couldn't be helped that he really wanted to know something about their current statuses.

"Uh, Cicero," he exclaims at long last.

"Is there something the matter, Sir Kunsel?" the Turk responds in kind.

Zen and Zack both turn their heads curiously towards their friend, but Kunsel refused to back down. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he lays his hands flat on his knees as he sits up straighter in his seat and looks unrelentingly at Cicero.

"As I understand it, Shin-Ra recruits must be selected for SOLDIER candidacy in order to get into SOLDIER, right?" he began. Angeal breaks his gaze away from the window and glimpses over at the young man, curious to see what he was after. "And from what I can tell, a higher rank such as a member of SOLDIER itself is able to recommend candidates, correct?"

"That much is true, yes," admits Cicero.

"Since Angeal recommended Zack for SOLDIER, I can't help but wonder who selected both Zen and myself," Kunsel rolls his hands up into fists as he spoke, his emerald eyes piercing through his SOLDIER helmet. "Do Turks have the authority to recommend recruits for SOLDIER as well as members of SOLDIER themselves?"

Cicero closes his eyes and brings a rolled up hand to his chin before replying hesitantly. "Yes, that is true."

"So, wait, does this mean that either you or your partner suggested both Kunsel and me for SOLDIER?" spoke up Zen. "If that's the case, then what's with the third degree about me being taught by a Wutanese?"

"Dame Amira just wanted to be sure we made the right decision, that's all," answers Cicero, brushing some hair out of his face with a hand. "A company like Shin-Ra cannot afford to have any loose ends, otherwise our tough tapestry of an organization unravels and leads to chaos." He creases his emerald eyes. "Do you question our choice?"

"Well, no, but," began Kunsel, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I… just find it hard to believe that the three of us…"

" It is nothing more than the luck of the draw," assures Cicero with a smile. "All three of you are suitable candidates for SOLDIER membership and the fact that all three of you know each other simply makes the transition easier. You should be happy that this coincidence happened. It means lady luck is looking favorably upon all of you."

"I guess…" utters Kunsel. For some reason, it sounded like there was more to the Turks' decision than just the factor of their overall strength and fighting prowess. But it was much too early to cast doubts on their situation at this point in time. They were all in SOLDIER and that was all that mattered, right?

"Oh, hey, we're goin' over the Chocobo Farm now," exclaims Zack, pointing out the window.

"Hey, didn't you say something about working at the Chocobo Farm once?" recalls Zen.

"Oh, we get a lot of SOLDIER requests from that farm," notes Cicero, feeling a little glad for the change in topic. "The Midgar Zolom tends to cause quite a bit of trouble for the farmer there."

"What's a Midgar Zolom?" wonders Zack, looking back at the Turk.

"Oh, it's a giant serpent that can fling a human being at least a mile away as well as have a bite power of 10,000 pounds per square inch and can burn its victims to a crisp," explains Cicero rather happily. "But it's not a major problem so we usually send in Third Class SOLDIERS to take care of it."

At the sound of that, Zack, Zen, and Kunsel balk at the prospect of having to contend with the gargantuan monster.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire," Zack mutters quietly with a frown.

* * *

It was nearing evening as the helicopter touched down on the Shin-Ra headquarter's helipad right in the middle of Midgar. Construction vehicles were still at work building walls and Mako reactors to unite the formerly separate towns in the area as one. A few trains were already in service and lights were starting to come on thanks to power from the already erected reactors. The sight was unlike anything Zack, Kunsel, and Zen had ever seen before.

As the helicopter's blades began winding down, the three new SOLDIER recruits climb out of the vehicle onto solid ground. They watch as Cicero walks over to meet a red-headed man who wore a similar suit. Angeal remains with the teenagers until Cicero beckons all of them over.

"This here is Sir Rodney," he introduces with a smile. "He'll be giving you a tour of the Shin-Ra headquarters and guide you to your new barracks where you'll be staying."

"Pleased to meet you," greets the Turk as he shook everyone's hand aside from Angeal. "And welcome to Midgar. If you have any questions, I'll answer them to the best of my abilities."

"Well, Sir Angeal and I will be off now," exclaims Cicero. "Enjoy your stay."

Zack, Kunsel, and Zen watch as Angeal walks off with Cicero, leaving them in the hands of their new associate.

"Well, if you follow me, I'll show you around," says Rodney, waving his hand over.

The four of them enter the building to access an elevator with glass walls, allowing them to see more of Midgar while they went down to the lower levels.

"Floor 49 is the SOLDIER floor," Rodney explains matter-of-factly. "That's where all members of SOLDIER must go to receive training, get briefed for missions, and receive supplies from the company." He hands each of them a keycard, which had their names printed on them and a black bar on the other side. "These will act as your SOLDIER identification cards as well as your keycards. You will only have access to certain floors so don't think you can just wander around anywhere you please. You can purchase potions and other provisions through the company store on the second floor."

"Man, I remember when this area was still separate towns," noted Zen as she looks out across the developing city. "Shin-Ra sure works fast, doesn't it?"

Suddenly, the elevator stops and the four of them step out onto a floor with multiple hallways and closed doors.

"Where are we now?" wonders Kunsel.

"The first phase of your initiation into SOLDIER," answered Rodney. "Your Mako treatment."

"Mako treatment?" exclaims Zack dubiously. He could tell Kunsel and Zen were both as unsure as he was.

"Every new member of SOLDIER must undergo Mako treatment," affirms Rodney. "It enhances their abilities and makes them much stronger than they ever could without it. Surely you already know of this."

"Well yeah, we do," Kunsel scratches the back of his head nervously. "It's just that, we don't know what the treatment entails."

"… There won't be needles involved, will there?" spoke up Zack, twiddling his fingers.

"As far as I know, no," replies Rodney, raising an eyebrow incredulously. He found it hard to believe that a SOLDIER candidate like Zack would be afraid of needles of all things. So much for positive first impressions. "New members basically just get showered with the stuff and that's it."

"Oh, is that all?" exclaims Kunsel, feeling a little better about the whole thing. "I guess we were worried for nothing then."

"Now, if there aren't any more questions, please follow me to the treatment room," instructed the Turk.

The three of them follow Rodney into a room with what looked to be a large area blocked off by a wall of glass. Scientists were at the computer panels near the door, working some sort of calculation and whatnot. Another door went into the larger area where the teenagers assume they would be going.

"The treatment will take about thirty minutes," notes Rodney. "I'll come back when you're done and show you to your new barracks."

With that, the Turk disappears through the door they just came through, leaving the teenagers in the hands of the scientists at work.

"Please take off your armor and weapons and enter the room," instructed one of them, opening the sliding door to the larger area.

The three of the did as they were told, removing their swords, pauldrons, armlets, and chest armor as well as their helmets and lay them all on a table in the middle of the operating room. They gulped as they then enter the next room, unsure of what to expect. As soon as they entered the treatment area, they could hear the door close and seal up behind them.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm sure not going to be standing for the whole thirty minutes," declares Zen, taking a seat near the middle of the floor and crossing her legs.

"I wonder what's going to happen," spoke up Zack.

Before Kunsel could get a word in, a greenish mist suddenly falls upon all of them, filling their vision with a soft green haze. The three of them became silent as they endure the Mako shower. Kunsel shields his eyes and look upwards in an effort to see where the mist was spraying from, but gave up as his line of vision was filled with green rain. He looks over to where Zen was sitting, the girl apparently in a meditative state with eyes closed as the Mako fell on her. He blinks a few times as his eyes started seeing everything in shades of soft green. He turns his gaze over to Zack, who had decided to sit down after a few minutes. Kunsel supposes Zack realized they weren't at risk of getting their pants wet if they were to sit down.

But that was what fascinated Kunsel most: they weren't getting wet at all! Mako isn't a solid substance, merely energy seeping from the Planet. He could feel the "rain" of Mako passing through his clothes and penetrate his body, but nothing more. Perhaps that was why the scientists wanted them to remove their armor, but leave the rest of their uniform on. His face blushes at the thought of all three of them undressing down to their underwear in order to undergo the Mako treatment. Even after being with Zack and Zen all these years, he still was a little shy when it comes to undressing and dressing in front of his best friends.

Suddenly, the mist stops as abruptly as it began. Kunsel watches as the haze fades away, allowing him to see his friends much better. As soon as the room was clear of the green fog, the glass door slides open to allow them to retrieve their armor and weapons.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," notes Zen, putting her pauldrons and chest armor back on.

Just then, Zack cries out and points to Kunsel's eyes.

"Your eyes!" he exclaims. "They're blue!"

"I know you're slow at times, Porcupine, but this is ridiculous," Zen responds incredulously. "We've been together for three years and you don't know Kunsel's eyes are green? If you're that oblivious, I might as well tell you now that my eyes are hazel brown."

"No, it's not that!" replies Zack. "I mean, they're _glowing_ blue!" He then points over to the girl after seeing her eyes. "Your eyes are blue, too!"

Zen raises an eyebrow until Kunsel speaks up as well.

"No, it's true! Your eyes _are_ blue now!" he adds.

"Please calm down," demanded one of the scientists, rubbing his temple after having to hear the teenagers shout at each other. "Glowing blue eyes are a result of the Mako treatment. Every member of SOLDIER has them."

"Oh, I thought that was an Angeal thing," responds Zack, dumbfounded. "Then again, he's the only SOLDIER member we've ever met…"

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this change," says Zen, bringing a hand to her chin. "I mean, what if we have to do stealth missions? Won't our eyes give us away in the darkness?"

"I doubt the glow is like a flashlight, Zen," chuckles Kunsel, putting on his pauldrons. "It's a lot more subtle than that. Remember Angeal? We never noticed his glowing eyes until we got closer to him. You're not going to be able to see it from long distances."

Just then, the door to the room slides open and in steps Rodney, returning after the treatment like he promised.

"I assume you all are done with the treatment?" he asks straight out.

"Yep," answers Zack, putting his hands on his hips. Along with Kunsel and Zen, all three of them were back in their armor with swords strapped to their backs.

"Good, follow me," nods Rodney.

The four of them head to the elevator where they were taken to the ground floor of the Shin-Ra headquarters. There, Rodney leads them outside to an adjacent structure that seemed to look twice as small as the Shin-Ra building. Upon entering the SOLDIER barracks, they were taken down below the surface via another elevator.

"Don't be fooled by the size. The barracks are a lot bigger than they seem," spoke up Rodney as they moved farther down. "The bigwigs at Shin-Ra just wanted to make sure their main building stands out above everything else."

"Interesting," notes Kunsel.

"Within the Shin-Ra building are also laboratories in addition to an infirmary," continues the Turk. "Make sure you don't mistake the two, as the scientists are too busy to differentiate visitors from test subjects." He pauses. "Be sure to familiarize yourselves with the building directory on the first floor."

All three teenagers look at the man nervously, wondering if he had been the victim of floor mix-ups during his employment with the company.

The elevator stops and the four of them step out onto a very long hallway lined with metal sliding doors on both sides.

"On your keycards are room numbers underneath your name and title," explains Rodney. "Each member of SOLDIER has his own individual room and bathroom so you won't be sharing a suite like you did back in Junon. If you have any more questions, utilize the help desk at the Shin-Ra headquarters. I'll see you around."

With that, Rodney reenters the elevator and goes back up, leaving the three sixteen-year-olds to their own devices. Once the Turk was gone, they each take out their individual keycards to see what rooms they were in."

"Well, this is it," speaks up Zack solemnly upon seeing the numbers on everyone's keycards. "Looks like we won't even be neighbors. I'm on the floor above this one."

"We could still hang out in the SOLDIER lounge at HQ," says Zen. "So at the very least, we'll still be able to see each other."

"That's right," agrees Kunsel with a nod. "Not so bad."

"Yeah," sighs Zack with a smile. "I guess we should all get to sleep soon. It's going to be a big day for all of us come tomorrow."

"To a new and beautiful beginning," says Zen, putting out her hand.

"To a bright future for all of us," adds Kunsel, putting his hand on top of Zen's.

"All for one, and one for all," adds Zack, putting his hand on top of Kunsel's.

* * *

**A/N:** It's always the tough-looking guys that are afraid of needles, no? XD And, gee, I wonder which of the Before Crisis Turks Rodney is.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Zen awakens bright and early the next day and quickly went about changing into her navy blue SOLDIER uniform. She spies a piece of paper laying on her nightstand and snatches it up before rushing out the door towards the elevator. Checking her pocket to make sure she has her Gil purse, she presses the button for the surface floor.

Once outside in the streets of Midgar's upper plate, Zen checks the piece of paper and heads for the train station going down into the developing slums below. As she ran, citizens stop to wonder whether she was a young man or not as female members of SOLDIER were extremely rare and unheard of. She overheard one little boy ask his mother why that man had long hair when referring to her.

But there was no time to stop and correct everyone. Zen was on a mission; a personal one mind you, not a SOLDIER-classified mission. At long last, the girl slows to a walk upon entering what was now known as Sector 5. She scans the unmarked shops that have set up around the area until she found one in particular that had swords and other weapons decorating its inner walls.

The purveyor of the shop nearly has a heart attack upon seeing a member of SOLDIER of all people bound up to his store. Before he could say a word, Zen happily shoves a drawing into the poor man's face.

"Hi, I have a job for you," she exclaims with a grin.

* * *

Kunsel was wandering around the SOLDIER floor with his helmet off as he familiarizes himself with the place. Earlier in the morning, he was given a Cure Materia, the very first Materia he had ever laid hands on. It was a standard Materia that all members of SOLDIER were supposed to receive upon membership to hone their magic skills. The brown-haired young man was a little apprehensive when it came to magic, as it was never his forte. He looks down at his slotted armlet, the clear green surface of the Cure Materia shining in the light of the sun outside.

He hears his name being called and turns around to see Zack walk up to him.

"Hey, did you get your first Materia yet?" asks Kunsel.

"Oh, we get Materia now?" exclaims Zack.

"Yeah, you can grab one from the container units in the briefing room," answers Kunsel. "We're only allowed a Cure Materia for now since we're new, but I think we get better ones as time goes on."

"Cool," responds Zack. He looks around the area and turns back to Kunsel. "Where's Zen? She hasn't been sent on a mission yet, has she?"

"Not that I know of," replies Kunsel, scratching the back of his head.

"Zack!"

The two of them turn to see Angeal walk up to them.

"Report to the briefing room ASAP," declared the First Class SOLDIER.

"I'm on a mission already?" sighs Zack, interlocking his hands behind his head.

"Get use to it," says Angeal. "This is how it is to be a member of SOLDIER."

"I guess I'll see you later, Kunsel," says Zack. "Tell Zen I said hi if you see her."

"Will do," responds Kunsel as he watches Zack follow Angeal to the briefing room.

Cicero was waiting for Angeal and Zack near the desk panel when they entered. Zack had not counted on working with the man so soon, but sees it as a blessing as he is at least familiar with the Turk.

"Sir Angeal, Sir Zack," greets Cicero, motioning a hand to the seats near the briefing table.

The two SOLDIER members sit down before the Turk continues on.

"We've been getting reports in the Gongaga area about strange monster attacks," began Cicero. He looks over to Zack. "That's why we've got you on this assignment. You're knowledgeable about that area, correct?"

"Uh, yeah," responds Zack, shocked again by yet another surprise. He definitely did not count on returning back to Gongaga at all. He twiddles his fingers at the prospect of meeting his parents again after so long.

"We will assign five infantrymen to escort you," continues the Turk, bringing up a world map on the screen and highlighting the appropriate areas. "You will take a ship from Midgar to the Gongaga area on the Eastern Continent. From there, you will be driven to your final destination of Gongaga where you will investigate the cause of the monster appearances. Any questions?"

Zack meekly raises a hand.

"Yeah," he began nervously, lowering his hand a little. "Is it possible for me to sit this one out?"

Angeal and Cicero look at him as if he grew another arm out of his head.

"Sir Zack, Third Class and Second Class SOLDIERs do not have the authorization, nor the choice, to decide which missions they do unless a medical condition prevents them from effectively carrying out their orders," explains Cicero. "_You_ don't have a medical condition that would prevent you from carrying out this mission, do you?"

"No, sir," Zack answers dejectedly and hangs his head.

"Allright then," affirms Cicero. "Both of you will leave the Midgar harbor at 2200 hours. Good luck!"

* * *

Later that night, Zen bounds into the SOLDIER lounge area, her black ponytail bouncing up and down as she ran. On one of the many seats in the lounge sat Kunsel looking at something in his SOLDIER issued cell phone, his helmet laying on the seat next to him. With a grin that threaten to split her face in two, the teenage girl plops down next to her best friend holding something rather large and wrapped up in her hands.

"What'cha readin'?" she wonders curiously, looking over at his cell phone as her black bangs fall over her face.

"Just trying to get a better understanding of Shin-Ra and its policies," responds Kunsel without looking up from his phone. "What'cha got there?"

"Something."

"Something?"

Kunsel raises an eyebrow and finally tears his gaze from the miniscule screen he was looking at to look at his friend. "Does this involve something dangerous?"

"Maybe," pouts Zen, taking off her helmet with one hand and putting it on the seat next to her. "If you count a harmless object as dangerous."

"Anything that gets in _your_ hands becomes dangerous," retorts Kunsel.

"So true!" she trills with glee as gets up and unwraps the object she was holding, revealing a weapon that was two-thirds blade and one-third staff with a loop at the bottom. "Ta da!"

Kunsel's eyes widen in surprise. "Is that…?"

"You bet it is!" exclaims Zen happily. "It's my own horse cutter in the flesh! Well, iron and steel, but who cares!"

"Congratulations," says Kunsel with a smile. "You finally achieved your dream."

"Thanks," responds Zen, giving her new weapon a few swings. "Took me a while to find the blacksmith who could do it." She falls quiet and pauses, holding the staff of her weapon with both hands. "Hey, Kunsel. Have you been below the plate yet?"

"Not personally," answers the brown-haired teenager. "But I think I might know what you're thinking about."

"Midgar used to be a collection of separate towns the last time I saw them," began Zen. "They were only constructing the walls back then. I thought that was all they were doing. I didn't expect them to merge and industrialize like this."

"Times are changing," says Kunsel, turning his attention back to his cell phone.

"I know," responds Zen, hanging her head. She suddenly remembers something and turns to Kunsel. "Oh, where's Porcupine? I want to show him Promise."

"Oh, Zack and Angeal left for a mission a couple of hours ago," answers the boy, still looking at his cell phone's screen.

"First day on the job and he's already got a mission?" Zen attaches her horse cutter to her back and goes down on all fours to start doing push-ups on her fists. "Wonder when we're going to get our first mission. Any idea where they're going?"

"Most likely Wutai," responds Kunsel. "A lot of SOLDIER members are getting dispatched there to fight in the war." He pauses and looks down to where Zen was. "How would you feel if you had to fight your own teacher?"

"Teacher left Wutai a long time ago," replies the girl, still doing her push-ups. "I doubt I'll run into him when we get missions for Wutai."

"But he still has family there, no?"

Upon saying that, Kunsel notices that Zen had stopped midway through a push-up.

"Hey, want to head over to the training room?" she asks him, getting up to her feet. "We haven't sparred in a while."

"Uh, okay," answers Kunsel, putting his cell phone away to grab his helmet.

_I never noticed before_, he thought. _She never talks about her family._

* * *

**A/N:** Zack, Kunsel, and Zen have never gone below the plate back in Junon so they're blissfully unaware of the situation with the fishing village underneath Junon.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

One day and a half later, Zack found himself back on the Eastern Continent on his way to Gongaga. With nothing but the rumble of the truck filling the air, the teenage boy found himself doing sets of squats every now and then to keep himself busy.

"Settle down," orders Angeal. Truth be told, it was bad enough he was stuck on a truck with the rambunctious SOLDIER member and a handful of infantryman for at least two hours. Watching the boy's form bounce up and down as he did squats gave him a headache.

Zack stops mid-squat and finds a seat on the floor of the truck, feeling a little embarrassed to be chastised by his superior.

"Nervous?" wonders Angeal after a few minutes.

"No," Zack responds as his eyes wander. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, last I checked, you haven't been back to Gongaga in a little over three years," replies Angeal, crossing his arms. "Nervous about seeing your folks again after so long?"

Zack falls quiet, giving the First Class SOLDIER the hint that he didn't want to talk about it.

"If it makes you feel any better, we're stopping by Hoku Village to load up on provisions before heading to Gongaga," he says at last. "So you won't have to see your parents too soon."

"Hoku Village?" repeats Zack. Suddenly, memories of the day he ran away and met Zen came flooding back to his mind.

"That a problem?" wonders Angeal, raising an eyebrow.

"No, no, it's fine," stutters Zack, tinkering around with his helmet.

_Zen's parents must be worried about her_, he thought and smiles. _Maybe I'll pay them a visit to let them know how well she's doing_.

* * *

A few hours later, Zack found himself back in the very place where he left to join the Shin-Ra army with Zen. Looking around, he found not much has changed since he was last here. Granted, he wasn't in the village for very long so if there were any changes, he wouldn't really know what they were.

"Don't wander too far, we've still got a ways until Gongaga," warns Angeal.

"Got it," Zack responds with a two-finger salute. He walks up to a boy not much younger than him who seemed to be lingering around on his own. "Hi there! Do you know where Zen lives?"

"Zen?" the boy's eyes brighten up at the sound of that name. "You know Zen?"

"Sure do," Zack lets out a friendly grin.

"In that case, follow me!" the boy motions with a wave of his hand.

Zack follows him through the town towards a rather unpopulated area behind a grassy knoll. He thought that perhaps Zen's family lived a little out of town. That was, until he saw that there was no house to see for miles. The boy was leading him to a small graveyard where several plots were laid out evenly, each with a stone grave marker that must have been meticulously cared for in the past, but now layered with weeds and dust.

The boy turns to look solemnly at Zack. "Be sure you greet them politely and say please and thank you." With that, he leaves Zack to the graves, knowing in his heart the Third Class SOLDIER meant no harm.

For a few minutes Zack simply stood there dumbstruck. Zen rarely, if ever, spoke about her family and when she did, he had always assumed they were still alive and waiting for her to come back. Never had the thought that they weren't around anymore came to his mind. And Zen didn't want anyone to know, not even her own brothers in arms.

Because of this.

Zack falls to his knees as he fought to suppress tears that threaten to streak down his face. While he and Kunsel had family to return to, Zen didn't have anyone to welcome her back with open arms. She didn't have a home; she didn't really have anything. She hid her pain through smiles and words of optimism despite what laid behind her in the past. All this time, she hid the truth from him. Her best friend.

"Hh… Hi…" spoke Zack. He rolls his fists up on his knees and tightens them as he fought back tears. "Mm… my name's Zack. I'm a good friend of your daughter." He lets out a long sigh and relaxes his fists a bit. "She's doing… really well. She's very strong and looks out for our friend, Kunsel, and me. We're all very close, like best friends. Like… brothers…"

An incredible sadness washes over him as he struggles to get to his feet. His legs felt like gelatin seeing Zen's family like this. He didn't want to do anything but double over and cry his heart out. But he couldn't do that, not now. The time for tears is later. He still had a mission to do.

Looking at the graves one last time, Zack turns to rejoin Angeal and the others.

* * *

With helmet firmly planted on his head, Zack watches as Angeal spoke with the mayor of Gongaga. He tries to hide his face as best as possible from the mayor of all people, for it was his own father who ran Gongaga now. He wonders what happened to the previous mayor and seeks to find someone unfamiliar to him to get answers.

"Just don't bother the other townsfolk," he could hear his father warn Angeal quite sternly. "You keep to the inn and the Mako reactor. I don't want any trouble."

"I assure you we mean no harm," affirms Angeal with a face that was straighter than a ruler.

"Yeah, I'm sure you do," scoffs Jack. "Your forsaken Mako reactor is the reason why the previous mayor became ill and died. And now we've got more monsters coming into town because of that thing!"

Well, that answers one question Zack had.

"You just do your little investigation and take care of those renegade monsters," continues Jack. "My wife has already been injured by those cretins and I want them gone ASAP!"

"If you have any injured, we do have Materia to help you with," says Angeal. "Like I said, we don't mean any harm, we're here to help."

Jack sighs angrily as Angeal motions to Zack to follow the man to his home. The whole way, Zack listens to his father mutter bad things about Shin-Ra and their military dogs. It hurt him to hear the man talk about him and his friends that way, but nothing compares to the hell that would be wrought should his father finds out about him. It was almost worth having to hear all that instead of deal with his father directly.

It felt strange to reenter the very house he left all those years ago. After Jack closes the door, Zack spots his mother lying on the couch in the living room with her right arm all bandaged up. He could easily see the blood seeping through the white layers of gauzes, his mother's face in a painful grimace.

Almost immediately, Zack kneels down to her side and raises his right hand over her wound. The green Cure Materia embedded into his armlet began to glow softly as the magical energy within becomes the catalyst that causes the woman's wound to heal quickly. Rose groans as she could physically feel her arm fixing itself. After a few minutes, the Materia stops glowing and Zack pulls his hand away. He watches his mother unwrap her arm to view his handiwork. Neither a scratch nor a scar was to be found on her skin.

"Thank you," she smiles warmly at Zack.

"This doesn't excuse the rest of you military dogs," growls Jack. "You're all still enemies in my book." He opens the door and motions for Zack to get out. Before Zack leaves, he hears his mother call to him.

"Wait!" cries out Rose, grabbing his arm. "Have you seen my son? His name is Zack and he would be around your age by now with black hair. He left to join the Shin-Ra military three years ago."

"No, I'm sorry," responds Zack.

"But if you do run across him," pleads Rose. "Tell him that his parents love him very much and to come back home soon."

_Once we get into SOLDIER, you have to promise to write back to your parents at least once. No matter how noble your intentions, running away and letting your parents worry to no end is the worst thing you could do to them._

"I promise," assures Zack, turning around to exit the house.

* * *

Zack found himself leaning on the railings overlooking the fountain near the Shin-Ra headquarters, reflecting on that day. He hadn't seen Zen since he came back since she was on another mission. Kunsel had also been missing in action due to his own missions as well so Zack had been by himself for two days straight.

"Hey, Porcupine!"

The young man turns around to see his best friend approaching him with what looked to be a bag of popcorn sitting inside of her helmet.

"Been crazy these past few days, huh?" she exclaims, popping an exploded kernel into her mouth. "Just came back from finally seeing the Loveless play that everyone's been hammering me to see. It's pretty good. Maybe we could go see it with Kunsel when you guys get the time."

As soon as she came close enough, Zack wraps his arms around her in a sorrowful embrace, causing the girl to nearly drop her helmet of popcorn.

"Porcupine? What…?" stutters Zen.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asks her.

"Sorry, I didn't know you wanted to go see the play that badly. I wou—"

"I went to Hoku Village a couple of days ago."

Upon hearing that, Zen falls silent as the helmet slips out of her gloved hand and hits the ground with a metallic thud. Some of the popcorn spills out onto the ground, but that was the least of her worries at the moment.

"So… you know, huh?" she asks rhetorically, knowing very well what the answer was.

"All this time?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

Zack hugs her one last time before letting her go.

"This…" began Zen, averting her gaze. "Was why I never told you or Kunsel."

"If we had known—" began Zack.

"What? You'd try to bring them all back to life?" laughs Zen. "Last I checked, there was a statute of limitations when it came to phoenix downs."

"I'm sorry," apologizes the black-haired boy. "After I met your family, I had to go meet mine. But I couldn't let them know who I am because my father hates SOLDIER and Shin-Ra."

"At least… you can always go back to them," Zen walks over to the railing and leans her arms on them.

Zack turns to lean on the railing beside the girl. "Are you ever going back to Hoku Village?"

"I don't know," answers Zen uncertainly. "I don't think I'll ever be ready to go back."

"But, it's your home," continues Zack.

Zen laughs bittersweetly at the sound of that. "Home is where the heart is. My heart died along with them."

"… Do you want to tell me what happened?" asks Zack.

"You think you're ready for a river?" Zen smiles meekly as she looks at Zack.

"I've got two shoulders," Zack retorts back with a smile.

Zen turns her gaze back to the fountain below them and lets out a deep sigh.

"Hoku Village is renown for explorers. We have a tradition in which everyone is to go on a one-year journey to visit various parts of the world to expand our knowledge and see new things. My father had died before I came of age to go and my mother needed to stay home to take care of my sisters. We decided that I would go with Teacher so I can continue my training in addition to fulfilling our village's tradition. I was ten years old when I left Hoku Village for the very first time."

Zen lowers her eyes as the memories came back.

"During the year I was gone, Hoku Village came under attack from monsters. Half of the village was decimated and many people died. My family was amongst the deceased."

She closes her eyes to prevent tears from forming.

"Teacher left after I came back to Hoku Village. The remaining villagers allowed me to live with them while we rebuilt the village. Once the village was fully restored, I left to join the Shin-Ra military."

Zack was silent for a few minutes as Zen's story sank in.

"Do you blame yourself for what happened to the village?" he asks her.

"Every day," she answers somberly, opening her eyes.

"You really shouldn't," says Zack.

"Why not?" wonders Zen, her voice breaking. "If I wasn't gone, I would've been able to help the villagers fight the monsters and protect my family."

"You couldn't possibly know what would happen," affirms Zack. "Your village did the best it could."

"I just feel I let everyone down," spoke up Zen, tears streaming down her face. "I shouldn't have left."

"Zen…"

"I'm sorry," Zen turns to pick up her helmet, the bag of popcorn still nestled inside. "I joined Shin-Ra to forget and move on. Can we not talk about this anymore?"

"Okay," sighs Zack, watching on as Zen quickly makes her way back to the barracks, never once turning back to look at him.

* * *

**A/N:** Man, crappy times for Zack, huh? Well, I guess it's equally crappy for Zen since Zack found out about her little secret. Oh boy.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** This chapter is dedicated to my good friend, Mai Hayakawa, who recently passed on from a car accident on August 22, 2010. She was full of life and had so much more to live for. Her death shocked the hearts of all who knew her. She was loved by many and will be missed dearly.

See you later, Mai.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

The Vajradhara Wu swung its massive axe again at Zen, who swiftly jumps back out of range of the single-edged weapon. With a hand on Promise's grip, the young woman flips the blade outward and grabs the empty part of the grip with her other hand. With both both hands frmly holding her horse cutter, Zen raises the sword vertically to her face and prepares to strike back. The Vajradhara Wu lets out another mighty bellow as it aims its blade at Zen and sends it falling down on her. In a split second, Zen blocks the blade with her own and yells out as she forces the beast's weapon back. The momentum sends the monster stumbling, giving her the opportunity to leap up and use her Whirlwind Limit Break as she fell back onto the creature.

Succumbing to its fatal injuries, the Vajradhara Wu lets out one last roar before it falls onto the ground and becomes absorbed into the Lifestream. Once the monster fades away, Zen lets out a sigh of relief and scratches her head.

"Man, that took longer than expected," she utters out loud, lowering her sword. "Those anti-SOLDIER monsters sure do pack a punch."

The next thing Zen knew, she was flying through the air and slamming right into a large chunk of rock headfirst. As spots began assaulting her line of vision, she turns her head to see another monster that looked similar to the one she had just defeated earlier. The humanoid creature roars at the sky as it waves its giant bladed mace around. The monster slowly began approaching Zen, growling the whole way. Meanwhile, the young woman struggles to get her bearings straight and get up, but the impact had left her head throbbing and her vision blurry.

"This will not end well…" she whines quietly, looking up to see the Vajradhara Tai raise its swordmace to deliver the final blow.

Suddenly, the creature pauses and becomes silent. Zen uses this chance to roll out of the way as the monster slowly and steadily falls to the ground with a loud thud. Seeing that the monster was somehow defeated in the blink of an eye, Zen tries to get up again, but the throbbing headache sends her sprawling back down on the ground. With an exasperated sigh, she pulls off her helmet and tosses it to the side. Her vision was starting to go back to normal just as she hears someone approach her. Turning her head, she could discern a pair of black boots coming towards her with what look to be a red blade on the left. The boots stop near her and Zen turns her head upwards to see a familiar face.

"Thanks for the help… First Class Genesis," she grins uneasily.

"Vajradhara Wu and Vajradhara Tai tend to be a packaged deal," explains the brunette matter-of-factly. "Find one and the other won't be far behind. I thought you were briefed on this."

"Uh, I forgot?" Zen groans, laying an arm over her eyes as the throbbing in her head subsides.

"Your forgetfulness almost got you killed," affirms Genesis, putting out his hand for Zen to grab.

Not noticing the gesture, Zen does a kip-up and hops back onto her feet with ease. Genesis lets out a sighing smirk and turns around to put away Rapier.

"I would've been fine," counters Zen as she walks over to where Promise had fallen. "I've been through worse."

"Worse than being at the business end of a giant swordmace?" Genesis speaks incredulously as he raises an eyebrow at the young woman. As he spoke, he walks over and scoops up her battered helmet with a hand.

"Okay, not so much," admits Zen, kneeling down to pick up Promise and attach it to her back. She stands back up and turns to grin at Genesis. "But just almost."

"Heh, you remind me of Angeal," scoffs Genesis, tossing Zen's helmet to her.

"Somehow, that imagery doesn't sit well with me," chuckles the young woman as she catches her helmet with both hands.

"Let's head back to meet up with the helicopter," exclaims Genesis, motioning his head towards the Wutai horizon. "Our work is done here."

Seeing that her helmet is a bit too broken into, so to speak, Zen opts to carry it under her arm until she can get back to the Shin-Ra headquarters where she could get it fixed.

"So you're pretty close to First Class Angeal, aren't ya?" wonders the Third Class SOLDIER as she walks alongside her superior.

"You could say that," replies Genesis.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you and First Class Angeal were brothers," notes Zen with a grin. "You sure you guys have different parents?"

"I could say the same thing about you and Third Class Zack," Genesis responds with a smirk.

"Just because we both have black hair and bangs," Zen rolls her eyes and blows her black bangs out of her face.

Seeing the young woman's response made Genesis chuckle a little. "Same with Angeal and my hairstyles. But regardless, you get along with Third Class Zack just as well, do you not?"

"I… suppose…" Zen scratches the side of her head uncertainly.

"Has there been dissention within the ranks?" wonders Genesis in a tone that sounded genuinely concerned.

"Well, a couple of weeks ago, we had a little… contention, you could say… about… something…" Zen struggles to find the right way to describe her current conflict with Zack. "So we're sort of not talking to each other at the moment."

"I see," affirms Genesis. "Do you still consider him a friend?"

"Well… yeah…" Zen answers hesitantly.

"The mark of a good friend is that he is always there for you, no matter what," Genesis articulates rather poetically. "A good friend is so close, you would consider him to be as good as family. At least, that is what I think."

"Do you think of First Class Angeal as family, First Class Genesis?" asks Zen curiously.

"Please, call me Genesis," insists the brunette. "And yes, in a way, I consider Angeal to be like a brother to me." He turns to smile at the young woman. "But we're still not related by blood."

"Ditto for me and Zack," affirms Zen.

Genesis chuckles. "How long have you known Third Class Zack?"

"Well…" began the young SOLDIER member as she tries to remember when she first met Zack. "I suppose… today's the third anniversary of our meeting."

"Ah, will you be celebrating later?" Genesis asks, but then metaphorically bites back his tongue. "Oh, right, the two of you are in a… contention, as you put it."

Zen falls silent as she walked along, feeling unsure of what to do. She had never counted on either Zack or Kunsel finding out the truth about her family. Now she would never consider lying to either of them, but back then she had lied to Zack about her family because she only just met him. Why tell a complete stranger the truth, you know? Especially when you're trying to forget about it. And the boys from her hometown sympathized with her enough to not even flinch at her lies.

But thinking back on it all, it was only a matter of time before Zack and Kunsel found out. It wasn't like the people of Hoku Village are the type to cover up something like that. A creed that the village has always abided by was that of always learning from one's past so as to better one's future. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

And it wasn't like Zen is entirely devoid of family, so to speak.

"Family…" Zen lowers her eyes as she recalls all the memories she has had since meeting Zack and Kunsel.

_Yeah… family…_

* * *

If there's anything Kunsel knew, it was when things have taken a turn for the worse. And usually those things involved a certain two Third Class SOLDIERs.

It wasn't like this was the first time something uncomfortable like this happened between Zack and Zen. There have been times in the past where Zen stepped a little to far out of line with Zack. Or when Zack did just enough to piss off Zen right back. And then there are those times when one of them grabbed the last cup of jello from the mess hall and the other challenged the snatcher to a duel to the death, or something to that effect. And then neither would talk to the other for weeks on end. This was one of those times.

Although, Kunsel can't be sure that this time was one of those times. At least in previous times, he at least knew of what transpired between his two best friends. This time, he didn't know WHAT happened and it was high time he did. So much time, but who to talk to first?

"Kunsel, it's your turn."

"What?"

"Your turn," repeated Zack.

"Oh."

Kunsel slaps down a pair of 8s on top of the pair of 5s that was lying on the pile of playing cards in the middle of his bed.

The two of them have been playing a game of Big Two for the past hour or so and Kunsel began staring off into space midway through the game. There were no missions scheduled for either of them today so he had decided to invite Zack over to his room to hang out.

Kunsel slaps down a royal flush, causing the other boy to sigh in defeat. As Kunsel gathers up the cards to reshuffle them, he saw that Zack seems to be off in his own little world, staring off into space just as Kunsel had earlier. Of course, Kunsel couldn't just outright ask what the heck was going on. That would just make things more awkward. Although, things were already awkward as is.

"So…" he began instead. "How are things going with Angeal, Zack?"

"Good," replies the teenage boy, breaking out of his trance. "We've been going to the training room a lot."

"Ah," responds Kunsel. "So, I heard you made a visit to Gongaga. How was that?"

Zack twitches at the sound of that, which arouses Kunsel's suspicions.

_Finally! A lead!_ he thought. _Now to follow up on it or not?_

"Gave Angeal a headache like we thought, huh?" continues the brunette, trying to start things off more humorously.

"Not… really…" answers Zack uncertainly, crossing his arms. "It was… a good mission…"

"Sounds… interesting…" responds Kunsel nervously.

If there was anything he learned from being with the two of them, it's that it was better to divide and conquer rather than take them both on at once. Doing the latter never ended well.

"So what's going on between you and Zen?" he asks straight out. He figured there wasn't any point in bouncing around the question anymore.

"Nothing," Zack answers without looking at his friend.

"You guys have been avoiding each other, both mentally and physically-speaking, for at least two weeks now," Kunsel points out in a rather irate tone of voice. "Don't think I haven't noticed."

Zack simply shrugs in response.

"What happened during that mission you had to Gongaga?" Kunsel was starting to twist the deck of playing cards in his hand anxiously.

"I… sort of took a… side trip… to Zen's hometown," the raven-haired young man drawls out.

"Why?" wonders Kunsel curiously, raising an eyebrow in surprise. The cards in his hands were relieved of unnecessary contortions for the time being.

"It wasn't intentional!" Zack falls backward in frustration onto Kunsel's bed, his hands covering his face. "We were just there to get supplies for the rest of the trip to Gongaga. I figured I could stop by Zen's place to tell her folks how she was doing. How was I supposed to know they weren't… around?"

"Wait, seriously?" exclaims Kunsel, eyes wide at this new sliver of information. He brings a hand to his chin in thought. "That explains why she never talked about her family."

"Of course, helping my own folks out in Gongaga without letting them know who I was sort of exacerbated the problem even farther," Zack sighs as he drapes an arm over his eyes. "I couldn't get my mind off the whole thing for two days. I couldn't talk to anyone about it because it was so… sensitive… for me."

"So… you told Zen?" Kunsel could only grimace at what the girl's reaction would have been having her secret blown.

"Well, I just happened to run into her first," groans Zack. "And, as soon as I saw her, I… hugged her."

"You… what?" Shocked at this revelation, Kunsel drops the deck of cards onto his bed and some of them spill over the edge.

"It was reactive!" exclaims Zack, sitting straight up. "I was so sad about the whole thing, I needed a hug and I figured she could use a hug… too..."

"You _figured_?" coughs Kunsel in utter disbelief. "I would've thought you'd know better after the way Zen beat up that one guy back in Costa del Sol for falling on her. On _accident_!"

"Well, yeah, we both know Zen has a thing against displays of affection and anything like that," Zack scratches his head uncomfortably. "I didn't think… I mean, it's only _us_, her best friends in the whole wide world…"

"This certainly explains why, though," notes Kunsel. "No family, no love… It's only natural that she would reject displays of affection. Brings back too many painful memories of the happiness she once knew."

Just then, the door slides open and in walks a fully uniformed Zen with her well-maintained horse cutter firmly attached to her back. Zack's eyes widen and his mouth gaped open upon seeing the blade.

"Oh yeah, I never got to show you my sword, did I?" exclaims Zen, flipping her sword off her back. With a smug smile, she points the bladed point at him. "Porcupine, meet Promise. Promise, this is Porcupine."

"Hi?" the boy in question grins uncomfortably as he looks at the rather big weapon.

"Okay, now that we've got _that_ settled," she lays the dull side of the sword upon her shoulder and drops her still-battered helmet onto the floor. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Talk—pfft, we weren't talking about anything," Kunsel chuckles nervously. "Just, you know, the weather and all."

"Kunsel, you suck at lying and you know it," affirms Zen rather curtly.

"Be that as it may—" began the brunette, raising a finger.

"Forget it, Kunsel," sighs Zack. "There's no point covering up." He looks at Zen, Mako eyes to Mako eyes. "We need to talk about it. _You_ need to talk about it."

"Porcupine, I told you already—"

"I'm serious!" Zack nearly leaps off the bed, getting dangerously close to the girl. "You can't just pretend that didn't happen!"

"I can and I have," rebukes Zen, averting her eyes from the young man. Her grip on Promise became a little tighter as the atmosphere in the room intensified. "Can we stop talking about this?"

"No, Zen! Stop running away!" Zack grabs her shoulders and turns her to face him. "Look at me, Zen. Kunsel and I may not understand the pain you went through… but we're here for you." He could feel Zen's body tense up beneath his touch. "We've let you into our lives. Please, let us into yours. You're like a sister to us, you know? We can't help but worry."

Gritting her teeth as her chest became heavy with sorrow, Zen drops Promise onto the floor and falls to her knees as she could no longer hold back the tears she had been trying so hard to keep dammed up. She had always remained strong and confident when around Zack and Kunsel, never allowing them to witness her weak side. Not because she wanted to make herself look tough to them and everyone else, but because she was afraid of becoming too attached to them. Afraid that if they got too close, she would lose them. Just like she lost her family.

But she knew she could never lose them because she was here for them and they were here for her. In one fell swoop, Zack and Kunsel immediately went to her side to offer comfort and support.

"You guys are retardedly sweet," Zen covers her eyes with one arm as she choked back tears. "I hate you."

"We love you, too, Zen," Kunsel smiles, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"From now on, no more secrets, okay?" speaks up Zack. "All for one and one for all, remember?"

"Well, if we're going to be revealing secrets and all," began Kunsel with a meek smile. "I actually have ridden Chocobos before. I just really suck at it."

Zen laughs and sniffles through her tears. "I knew it. No way anyone could live in Mideel and not know about the Chocobos there."

"Also," continues Kunsel. "Zack forgot his belt to training one time and had to use shoelaces to keep his pants up."

"WHAT?" yelps Zack, his face blushing tomato red. "I thought no one saw!"

"And Zack," adds Zen, snickering uncontrollably as her tears stopped falling. "I make farting noises sometimes when you do your squats."

"What the hell!" exclaims Zack, aghast. "You guys are jerks!"

* * *

**A/N:** Poor Kunsel. Always having to be the mediator when it comes to Zack and Zen. Wonder how he manages to put up with them all these years. (By the way, I'm envisioning Kunsel as a brunette for story reasons. There's no official art of him without his helmet.)


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** SO sorry about the delay! I had a rough time trying to figure out how to make this chapter flow. I had a lot of ideas of what I wanted to happen and I couldn't get them all laid out in a particular order. I had to cut out some scenes and rewrite other parts to make it fit better. Certainly isn't the same chapter I originally started out with, that's for sure.

Anyhow, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Zack was a little more than surprised to see both Zen and Kunsel hanging around the lounge area on the SOLDIER floor of the Shin-Ra headquarters. The three of them haven't been on a mission together since they became members of SOLDIER and, because of that, they rarely ran into each other all at the same time, even in the lounge. Stroke of luck, or perhaps something big is on the horizon?

"You both are on the same mission today?" Zack wonders curiously as he approaches his two best friends.

"We sure are," responds Zen, rubbing her nose with a finger. "It's been a while since the three of us have gone on a mission together, huh?"

"Considering there's not a lot of SOLDIER members to begin with, it was only a matter of time before we took on missions together again," Kunsel points out. "We don't exactly outnumber infantrymen or anything."

"That's true," agrees Zack, scratching the back of his head. "Wonder if we'll be seeing Angeal or Genesis today."

"Well, well, if it isn't the newbies we've heard so much about."

Zack, Zen, and Kunsel all turn around to see a couple of fellow Third Class SOLDIER members standing behind them. One of the two had very dark brown hair combed back while the other donned a mussed blonde mess on his head. The brunette approaches them rather curtly while the blonde follows slightly behind.

"Over six months' worth of missions and we're still considered newbies?" scoffs Zen, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she raises an eyebrow incredulously.

"A woman in SOLDIER?" exclaims the brunette, perturbed by the discovery. "Is Shin-Ra getting _that_ desperate?"

"What's that?" growls Zen, feeling very tempted to reach for Promise.

Zack moves in front of the young woman in a bid to keep her at bay.

"Well now, you guys are Third Class just like us, aren't you?" he remarks back with a grin, hoping to alleviate the growing tension.

"Don't make us out to be the same as you three," snorts the brunette. "Essai and I have been here for over a year now. We'll be promoted to Second Class before you know it, so don't even think you'll get anywhere in the short time you've been here."

"Now, now, there's no sense getting all wound up for no reason," spoke up Kunsel. "We're all on the same team, after all."

"With an attitude like that, you'll _definitely_ get nowhere," the brunette continues smugly. "Looks like I was worried for nothing."

With that, he left for the briefing room, leaving his blonde associate behind. Once gone, Essai turns to look at the three sheepishly.

"Please excuse Sebastian for his attitude," he pleads. "He's a really great guy once you get to know him."

"I'd rather have Promise's blade become more familiar with his head," Zen responds curtly, her arms still crossed in irritation.

"There's always a group of infantrymen promoted to SOLDIER status every year," articulates Essai. "Sebastian just gets nervous because of all the 'competition.' He's just a really proud person and it would shatter him if someone got promoted to Second Class in a shorter amount of time than him."

"Wait, you mean all those Third Class SOLDIER members we were initiated with were promoted at the same time as us?" exclaims Zack with wide eyes.

"Of course," answers Essai matter-of-factly. "SOLDIER wouldn't be the size it is today if Shin-Ra only promoted a handful of infantrymen every year."

"That does make sense, now that I think about it," says Kunsel, bringing a hand up to his chin thoughtfully. "The Mako showering serves to enhance a human's abilities anyhow so as long as Shin-Ra can find physically capable candidates, SOLDIER will always have a steady stream of new members coming in."

Zen notices Zack seemed to be depressed by the whole revelation. Squatting on the ground and hugging his legs solemnly, the young man was meekly drawing small circles on the ground with his finger.

"Aww, are you sad you're not special anymore, Porcupine?" she banters with a smile.

Zack's head hangs a little lower in response. "…Maybe…"

"You certainly are a strange one," Essai laughs in response.

* * *

Walking along in the mountains of the Wutai continent, all Third Class SOLDIER members and accompanying infantrymen were on edge as they could be ambushed anywhere at anytime. Couple that with the rugged rocky terrain and restricted pathways and it's no wonder why they haven't started panicking yet.

Zack, on the other hand, was still bummed out by what Essai had told him and the others earlier.

"C'mon, Porcupine. Stay alert," warns Zen, walking ahead of the two boys.

A solemn moan was the only response she got from the young man.

"Zack, don't be so depressed," sighs Kunsel, nudging his helmet slightly upward to get a better view of his friend. "Regardless of how many newbies get admitted into SOLDIER, the fact that you have to be selected for promotion is still something to be proud of at least."

"Kunsel's right," adds Zen with a smile. "Remember what Angeal said at our initiation? Follow your dreams and protect your SOLDIER honor."

"He says that every chance he gets," remarks Kunsel with a smirk.

"Hey, don't make fun of Angeal," retorts Zack, raising an eyebrow at the brunette.

"Good, you're back to normal," Zen grins happily, turning back to face her brethren. "Whoops!"

She suddenly loses her footing and falls on her back. Before Zack could reach out to help her up, a gunshot rang out and a sizable hole appears in the cliff wall where Zen once stood.

"Shit!" Kunsel cries out as he pushes Zack down.

Immediately, the infantrymen returned fire with their submachine guns as the SOLDIER members scrambled behind boulders to shield themselves from the firestorm. They watched as Wutai soldiers emerged from the rocky outcrops along the opposite side of the path they were on. A couple of soldiers come down on the three, but Zen quickly leaps to her feet and cuts them down with Promise.

"AAUUUGGHHH!"

Zack turns to see another Wutai soldier stab his gunspear deep into Sebastian's shoulder. The brunette struggles to fight back, but could not counterattack as the Wutai soldier pinned him squarely against the rock wall behind him. In the blink of an eye the Wutai soldier fires the gun portion of his weapon, splattering more of Sebastian's blood against the rocks.

"Sebastian!" Essai cries out as he rushes to reach his friend.

Gritting her teeth, Zen knocks the attacking Wutai soldier back with the butt of her sword and flips the blade around to slash the man's chest. Once he was disposed of, she doubles back to hold off another Wutai soldier aiming to finish off Sebastian.

Soon enough, Essai arrives at Sebastian's side and quickly heaves the young man's limp body over his shoulder and heads back to a safer area. As he did so, Zack and Zen both covered their escape.

Just then, a Wutai captain from above knocks the two Third Class SOLDIER members to the ground. He swiftly kicks Zack in the chest, knocking him out cold. He then aims to stab Zen in the back when she speedily rolls out of the way. Getting up, she manages to parry the captain's gunspear away with her horse cutter. With a twist of the barrel, the captain tries to bring the blade of the gunspear came down on her head. Zen just barely manages to dodge out of the way, receiving a small cut above her right eye as she leaped back.

As blood began trickling down her face Zen was left with no choice but to close her right eye, handicapping her depth perception greatly. Seeing his chance, the Wutai captain lands a kick to her chest, which she immediately blocks with Promise's handle. Using that as a platform, the captain connects his other leg with her head with a roundhouse kick, sending the young woman flying a good distance into the rocky ground.

Feeling victorious, the Wutai captain rushes to deliver the final blow with his gunspear. As he aims the barrel of the weapon at her uncovered head, he pauses his finger on the trigger when he got a good look at Zen's face.

"A woman?"

Those were to be his last words as Kunsel comes up behind him and spears his sword through the man's chest. Zen's eye widen in surprise as she watches the captain slump down to the ground, blood trickling out of his fatal wound.

Kunsel reaches out a hand to Zen with a smirk on his helmed face. "Consider us even."

Zen lets out a half laugh as she grabs Kunsel's hand with her own and gets lifted to her feet. At that moment, they hear the chopping of helicopter blades as the redheaded Turk Rodney fires the vehicle's guns at the remaining Wutai soldiers.

* * *

Three hours after the Wutai ambush, Zack awoke to find himself and the others heading back to Midgar via a military cargo plane. The cargo hold of the plane was filled with SOLDIER members and infantrymen alike, all bandaged up in one way or another. A number were lying in stretcher-like cots for major wounds and injuries, him included.

Zack tries to get up, but the pain from the chest injury he received from the Wutai captain forces him back down on the cot he was on. He could hear Zen's voice not far from him, talking to someone whose voice he didn't recognize.

"Oh wow, you're a girl like me!" He could hear Zen exclaim.

"Mmm."

"Man, I was starting to feel like I was the only member of the Shin-Ra army that didn't have a penis. Glad to see someone else knows the monthly pain in the ass like I do."

"Uh…"

"Oh, sorry. Did I make you feel uncomfortable? You don't talk very much, do you?"

"Third Class Zen, would you please cease your chattering?"

That last voice Zack instantly recognized as the almighty First Class SOLDIER member, Sephiroth. Turning to his left, he watches as the silver-haired man approaches Zen, who was sitting with a Shin-Ra soldier still wearing a helmet.

"Sorry, sir. Just trying to lighten the mood," chuckles Zen. A white strip of cloth was wrapped around her forehead to contain the cut above her eye. No doubt that'll leave quite a scar she'll be proud of.

"That sure explains why I feel lightheaded," jests Sephiroth with a smirk.

"Ah ha, nice one, sir," responds Zen with a grin. She turns and notices Zack was conscious. "Oh, look. Porcupine finally woke up!"

"About time," sighs Kunsel, walking up to the both of them with his helmet under his arm. "You two are like trouble-attracting magnets, I swear."

"Hey, that's Zen's job," banters Zack.

"What can I say? I just have that effect on people," chuckles Zen, interlocking her fingers behind her head.

"In that case, I'll be staying as far away from you as possible," adds Sephiroth jokingly.

"Say, where were you when the battle went down?" wonders Zack, managing himself to sit up on his cot.

"A Wutai soldier had summoned a Vajradhara Asura so I had my hands full with that beast," explains Sephiroth, crossing his arms. "They truly know how to use their environment to their advantage, those Wutanese." He then began to look a little uncomfortable, conversing with a group of Third Class SOLDIER members. "Well, I should be heading back to the cockpit."

"See ya, Seph!" Zen waves eagerly at the man.

"Let's not make him more uncomfortable than he needs to be," suggests Kunsel, forcing the young woman's head down playfully with a hand.

"Well, look at you," speaks up Zack, looking at the brunette. "Nothing but minor scrapes and bruises. Is our little Kunsel growing up before our very eyes?"

"Heck yeah," exclaims Zen, pushing Kunsel's hand aside. "I mean, you really saved my butt back there."

"I-it was nothing," stutters Kunsel, his fair colored face flushed red. "I mean, I haven't forgotten what you did for me two years ago, Zen."

"Kunsel, have you forgotten our oath already?" asserts Zen, bringing her hand up into a fist. "All for one and one for all, remember? We look out for each other because we want to. Don't feel you have to repay everything we do for you."

"Not only that, you've gotten a lot stronger now," adds Zack. "It's about time you stop selling yourself short and start thinking of yourself as on the same level as Zen and me. Because you are, regardless of what you think."

Kunsel scratches the side of his head with contemplation. "I know."

"Oh, whatever happened to Essai and Sebastian?" pops Zack curiously. "Did they make it out alive?"

When he didn't get a response from either Zen or Kunsel, Zack knew something was up. He gives them a look that says "tell me now, or I'll figure it out one way or another."

After a few more minutes of silence, one of them finally speaks up.

"Sebastian… lost a lot of blood," began Kunsel. "A _lot_. He needed a transfusion quick."

Zack's eyes widen with concern. "What happened? Is he…"

"We… tested everyone who was able to give blood…" Kunsel continues.

Zen began crossing her arms and looking rather irritated as she focuses her eyes in another direction away from Zack's gaze, mainly towards Kunsel.

"And the only match to Sebastian's blood…" Kunsel says very hesitantly, knowing he was well within Zen's striking range. "was… Zen."

The young woman began grumbling annoyingly as she turns her eyes to the ground.

Zack was in a state of utter shock. Nothing, absolutely _nothing_, could prepare him for what could be the most hilarious turn of irony he has ever had the pleasure of being involved in.

"Are… you kidding me?" he gasps. He tries very hard to not start snickering, but it couldn't be helped. "_Seriously_?"

"Oh, shut up, Porcupine," retorts Zen, rolling her eyes.

"Does Sebastian know?" continues Zack.

"Uh…" drones Kunsel, turning his eyes away. "No. He was unconscious during the whole thing."

It was just too much. Zack couldn't help but start laughing. "Oh, man! Oh, this is great! I can't _wait_ to see how he's going to react to this. This is pure _gold_!"

"Porcupine…" growls Zen as she tightens her fists angrily.

"You should've seen it," Kunsel adds as he smiles nervously. "It took two other Third Classes and me to hold Zen down in order to draw her blood. She was really adamant about not giving it to Sebastian."

"Gee, I wonder why," Zen drolls sarcastically.

"Ahem!"

The three of them turn to see Essai standing meekly with his helmet in his hands. Some of his blonde hair splattered with specks of blood was over his eyes as he sought to find the words he wanted to say.

"Sorry to interrupt," he apologies sincerely. "But… I just wanted to say…" He turns to Zen, who was looking slightly calmer. "Thank you. For saving Sebastian's life."

"Just keep it on the down low and we'll call it even," responds the young woman.

"Oh, but I'm bad at keeping secrets from Sebastian," admits the blonde bashfully. "Especially when I know he'll want to know why he's still alive."

Zen sighs and began pinching the bridge of her nose. "Why does this have to be so complicated?"

"Zen, sooner or later, you're going to have to come to a truce with Sebastian," says Zack with a smile. "We're all fighting on the same team here. You can't avoid him forever."

"I can try," Zen pouts angrily.

"Please, Zen," begs Essai, gazing at her innocently through Mako eyes.

The young woman was taken aback by the puppy eyes. She had only gotten to know Essai for a few days and already he was growing on her. She certainly didn't have any problems with the blonde, but it was his best bud whom she really had trouble trying to get along with. She likes Essai as a friend all right, but certainly not to the extent that she would do anything for him. Especially this.

Sighing exasperatedly, Zen caves in to the young man's demands.

"Okay," she admits. "You guys have to break the news to him, though. _Then_, I'll start trying to get along with him."

"It's a deal," agrees Kunsel.

"This…" began Zack. "Should be good."

* * *

**A/N:** Sebastian and Essai don't have official concept art so I'm making up their looks for the sake of this fanfiction. Hope you guys aren't too confuzzled with the brunette invasion. (No, don't worry. There will not be a Squall insert in this story. No matter how much I want to. *sweatdrop* )


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** **SPOILER ALERT!** This chapter contains a spoiler from the original Final Fantasy VII game. Read on at your own discretion. Don't say I didn't warn you. Because I just did. Like, right now. I mean, you're reading this, aren't you?

…Carry on.

* * *

**Chapter 16**

"For the last time Kunsel, I'm _fine_. Stop worrying so much."

Zen was starting to feel irritated by the brunette's constant nagging about her health. It's been two weeks since the mission to Wutai when she was forced to give some of her blood to the Third Class SOLDIER member, Sebastian. Kunsel had every right to be worried, though. Zen fainted during the procedure and it took the on-call medics almost everything they had to revive her. He had never seen a human being so pale in his entire life and it scared him half to death. He couldn't fathom how Zen could just continue on so casually after going through such a life-threatening episode.

"At the very least, you should've mentioned that your body can't handle being relieved of that much blood," argues Kunsel upsettingly.

"Well sorry, I was a little more focused at _whom_ the blood was going to," sulks Zen, pouting her mouth in annoyance.

"Regardless," returns Kunsel. "If you had mentioned that you faint from giving too much blood, we would've tried to find another donor."

"But by then, Sebastian could've died!" Zen places a hand over her face as she struggles to compose herself thinking about Essai's feelings. "Look, what's done is done. Can we just forget about this whole thing?"

"No, Zen," answers Kunsel with much resistance. "This is important. If you continue to be reckless like this, you'll die!"

Kunsel was taken aback when Zen suddenly starts laughing at his prospect. He was about to yell at her when she puts her hands on his shoulders to make him face her.

"Kunsel," she began with an assuring smile. "I already got it taken care of as soon as we got back."

"What?" Kunsel raises an eyebrow.

"Shin-Ra has access to very good resources," clarifies Zen, giving him a confident thumb up. "So you don't have to worry about another fainting spell from me."

"I don't… I don't understand," stutters Kunsel in confusion.

"After we came back, I asked someone in the science department if it was possible to do something about my anemic condition," explains the girl, interlocking her fingers behind her head. "And all it took was a single shot to the arm. So no more fainting and I feel about ten times better than I ever had before."

Kunsel was rather amazed that Shin-Ra had access to such enhancing procedures. Mako treatments were one thing, but a simple cure to anemia? It boggled his mind. He didn't realize that Shin-Ra was that well off a company.

"Well, if you're really all that better…" he began.

"Sure I am!" Zen exclaims gleefully. "In fact, I feel like going a round or two in the training room. You up for it?"

Slowly, but hesitantly, Kunsel lets out a smile. "Okay. Race you to the SOLDIER floor!"

* * *

The setting sun painted the sky into a mix of warm colors over the Junon harbor. High atop the Mako Cannon sat Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth, all enjoying the view from the best vantage point in the area. Well, it was as much enjoyment that could be had with Genesis reading from Loveless out loud yet again.

"Genesis, I swear, you should just plaster that thing to your face," jests Sephiroth with a smirk. "I've never seen you without that book on your off-duty periods."

"I can't help it. It speaks to me," responds Genesis, still holding the playbook up with one hand.

"Then marry it," banters Angeal, nudging the book gently with his knuckles. "Genesis, you're my best friend and all, but even I'm getting sick of seeing that book's cover instead of your face."

"Well now, if I have to choose between seeing Genesis' face and the Loveless cover, I'd rather be staring at the Loveless cover," banters Sephiroth with a playful smile.

"If only I had something else to throw at you other than this book…" retorts Genesis as he glared at the silver-haired man.

Angeal and Sephiroth simply laugh at Genesis' obviously empty threat.

"Anyways," began Angeal after he finishes laughing. "Sephiroth, how was the recent mission to Wutai? Heard you got quite the surprise attack."

"If anything, I'd rather not fight the Wutanese on their home turf," replies the First Class SOLDIER member, crossing his arms. "Those mountains give them the best advantage when it comes to us invading them."

"You lost some SOLDIER members?" Genesis raises his eyebrows as he peers over his book.

"There were only a handful of infantry casualties. The rest suffered flesh wounds and the like," says Sephiroth, lowering his eyes as he reflected upon his failure to succeed in the mission with no casualties.

"Nobody's perfect, Sephiroth," notes Angeal. "Not even us."

Genesis raises his book over his eyes in an attempt to silently disagree with that sentiment.

"I don't know what to make of your protégé," remarks Sephiroth, preferring to turn the conversation elsewhere. "He's either very good or stupidly lucky to manage to get this far."

"Are you doubting my mentorship abilities?" says Angeal with a smirk. "Besides, I can say the same for your little intern."

Sephiroth frowns deeply upon hearing that. "She's _not_ a member of SOLDIER. I don't see how that is relevant."

"Do I sense a nerve being struck?" says Genesis, closing his book and putting it away. "First Sephiroth and his little pet and now Angeal and his successor-in-training. I'm feeling a little left out of this mentorship club."

"There's always that Zen girl," chuckles Angeal.

"Goodness, no," Genesis cringes and shakes his head. "Any_thing_, but her."

"Now that's not very nice," Angeal smirks, even though he somewhat agrees with his friend. "She's as capable a SOLDIER member as Zack. You should consider it."

"I don't think so," replies Genesis. "I don't have the patience you two have when it comes to being a mentor. Besides, Zen's a bit too wild to be mentored by anyone, as far as I can tell."

Just then, a beeping sound came from Sephiroth's pocket. Angeal and Genesis look on as their fellow First Class takes out his phone and reads the text message he just received. They could tell it wasn't good news as Sephiroth frowns even more so than before after he finished reading it.

"Him again?" Genesis wonders curiously, though he has a pretty good idea of who the message came from.

"Sephiroth, you should seriously consider putting in a request that'll keep you as far away from that man as possible," suggests Angeal.

"Come now, Angeal," began Genesis, standing up to stretch himself out. "We both know very well Sephiroth won't do that considering _who_ it involves."

Angeal looks down at the ground as he silently admits his agreement.

"If you're quite done making fun of me," exclaims Sephiroth with irritation. "I'm heading out now."

With his cell phone still flipped open, he goes through a menu and suddenly their world breaks away into bits and pixels until nothing was left but three First Class SOLDIER members and the interior of a high-tech virtual reality training room. Once the simulator was completely turned off, Sephiroth flips his phone closed and heads out the sliding door.

* * *

The air was filled with an intense silence as Sephiroth made his way to the Shin-Ra's main laboratory via an elevator. At his side was a teenage girl in infantryman attire, her helmet planted firmly upon her head.

"You don't have to go with me, sir," she remarks formerly. "I can get there on my own."

"It's no problem," replies Sephiroth as he stared straight ahead.

"It just seems very out of the way for you, sir," adds the girl.

"Zero, I assure you it's not out of the way for me at all," asserts Sephiroth very firmly.

Zero falls quiet as she continues to stand tall alongside the First Class SOLDIER. After a few more minutes, the elevator finally dings to their destined level: Floor 68.

Upon entering the laboratory, the two of them spot Professor Hojo checking on one of the numerous specimens that were being housed in what was pretty much a glass prison. As they got closer, the black-haired scientist stops what he was doing and turns to see them.

"Experiment Zero," he addresses the female infantryman rather nonchalantly. "Take a seat and I'll be right with you as soon as I finish filling out this chart here."

Sephiroth frowns deeply as Zero did as she was told and sat down on a nearby stool. He didn't like this man at all. In fact, almost everyone Hojo came across ended up not liking him period. Hojo is a brilliant scientist in his own right, meaning he is a valuable asset to the Shin-Ra company. And any valuable asset to a powerful company is going to get the best protection possible. That protection would be from SOLDIER and since Sephiroth was a First Class SOLDIER member, there wasn't much he could do to avoid having to interact with the scientist.

Not only that, he _really_ doesn't like it when Hojo keeps referring to his escort as an experiment every time she goes in for these checkups. He doesn't know why it bothers him so much; it just does.

"Take off your helmet and pull back your hair," commanded Hojo with some files attached to a clipboard.

Obediently, Zero removes her helmet, revealing shoulder length dark brown hair that looks as if it was fixed from being hastily cut with a knife. A good portion of her bangs covered up her right eye, which is the portion she was instructed to pull back. Underneath is a rather thick scar that ran down her face from forehead to cheek. From the location of the scar, it was easy to tell that she had lost her right eye some time ago. However, something else now occupied the space where her former eye used to be.

"Your new oculus seems to have acclimated quite well to your orbit," notes Hojo as he examines the right side of her face. "Can you see through it yet?"

"No, sir," replies Zero straightforwardly.

"Still?" exclaims Hojo irately. "I don't understand why you can't use it by now. It's been at least two years since the surgery. Then again, considering the source of your new oculus, I should be expecting as much."

The scientist slaps the file folder shut as Zero lets her bangs fall back over the right side of her face.

"Do you really have to keep calling her _Experiment_ Zero?" remarks Sephiroth rather out of the blue.

Hojo pauses in mid-step and slowly turns around to look at the First Class SOLDIER questionably. Zero simply looks down at the ground as the scientist returns to where the two are.

"I don't see why I shouldn't," retorts Hojo with a sneer. "She is what she is. If you care so much about your little pet, maybe you should've left her to die in the slums where you found her… _son_."

It took everything Sephiroth had to bite back his tongue. There was nothing he hated more than being reminded of his biological heritage. Fortunately, no one else knows about this secret of Shin-Ra outside of him, Hojo, and Zero. By all means, he really didn't have to come here with the girl at all. He was nothing more than the middleman when it came to Hojo getting into contact with Zero as the girl was never given a cell phone of her own for privacy reasons. Not for her privacy, mind you, but for the privacy of the company. At least, that was the answer Sephiroth was given when he inquired about it. He never understood why and was unable to get a clearer answer out of that.

He looks down at Zero, who was still sitting with her infantry helmet on her lap. True, the only reason she was here—and alive—was because of him. On a random outing, Sephiroth wandered into the Midgar slums below the plates on a whim. It was there by chance where he discovered the girl who would be dubbed Zero. When he found her, she was in clothes that were a few days short of becoming useless rags, armed with two katanas, and bloody from the old wound she had on her right eye. She was obviously cold and downright scared of seeing a member of SOLDIER of all people looking at her like a target. Sephiroth mused to himself as he clearly remembers losing a handful of his hair to one of her katanas when he approached her.

Anyone with half a mind would have been wise to move on and forget about that pitiful and seemingly hopeless sight. But for some reason, Sephiroth couldn't bring himself to walk away from her. Something in her remaining eye reached out to him. A kindred loneliness he often felt when fighting on the battlefield.

So it was then that Sephiroth more or less "adopted" Zero. Upon bringing the girl back to Shin-Ra headquarters, Hojo saw an opportunity and so performed the surgery in which he implanted a mysterious eye into the girl's empty eye socket and dubbed her Experiment Zero of all names. Sephiroth didn't exactly have a name in mind to call her himself, but it just seemed odd the amount of attention his father was giving her. Not that he was jealous or anything. _Anything_ but that when it came to Hojo of all people. He didn't question it back then, but now his curiosity was starting to get the better of him.

"Dismissed," Hojo said at long last, waving the two of them away with his hand as he went back to examining his other experiments.

The First Class SOLDIER felt more than happy to leave that forsaken floor of the Shin-Ra headquarters. He motions to Zero and the two head for the elevator. With helmet under one arm, Zero presses the button for the first floor and they were on their way.

"I'm sorry," she exclaims as soon as the elevator door closes.

Sephiroth turns to her calmly. "For what?"

"For being a burden," Zero lowers her eyes, still avoiding the man's gaze.

"You're not a burden," Sephiroth sighs, turning back to the view of the elevator's walls. "I'm doing this of my own free will."

"Why?"

It was hard for Sephiroth to come to an answer to her question. Why _is_ he doing all of this? Because he blames himself for letting Zero fall into Hojo's hands like this? Or because he's starting to feel a little attached to her?

Without a word, Sephiroth simply pets Zero on the head as one would with an obedient dog. Zero says nothing more in regards to the man's reasoning after that. Their relationship was simply a symbiotic one: Sephiroth providing companionship with Zero providing the ears that listen. Sure, Sephiroth could always count on Angeal and Genesis to vent his thoughts on. But for things that he didn't want to be known by his peers that was where Zero came in. He could always rely on her to keep his secrets a secret since she wasn't very sociable with anyone else to begin with.

After some more time has passed, they finally reach the bottom floor. Before they left each other, Sephiroth gives the girl one final pat on the head.

"Sleep well," he bids rather caringly.

"Yes, sir," responds Zero nonchalantly.

Nodding, Sephiroth aims for the SOLDIER barracks while Zero heads for the infantry barracks.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, sadly Kunsel doesn't particularly stand out as a member of SOLDIER compared to Zack and Zen. However, it does serve him better to be under the radar as anyone who played Crisis Core can attest. ;)

In many ways, Hojo reminds me of my own mom: he's very tactless, could care less about other people's feelings, won't admit his mistakes, and thinks he's the best. So I guess you can say I know very well how Sephiroth feels having to deal with him.

Also, before we go, I'd like to address an issue that I kind of expected to come up. Reviewer OhJay had this to say about my story:

_"Well like I said earlier, this is really good, and I like your OC. Speaking of which, this isn't going to ZackxZen is it? I like her, but I can't stand OCxCannon pairings. I support ZackxAerith though! Keep up the good work!"_

In response, I can only say GOODNESS NO! Sorry if it seems that way, but their relationship is purely friendship. She's a very important element to my plot so she's not just some random character insert. That also goes for the recently introduced Zero. Also, concerning Zero, I just think it'd make for an interesting subplot that Sephiroth had a capacity for kindness before he went nuts. But no, ABSOLUTELY NO OC pairings are in this fanfic. You have my word! ^^


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** So sorry for the utter lack of Zack in the previous chapter. But he's back so it's all good. ^^

I have a feeling some of you who played Crisis Core without playing the original Final Fantasy VII may be confused about the different uniform system present in this fanfiction. In the original Final Fantasy VII, the uniforms were royal violet for First Class, dark red for Second Class, and navy blue for Third Class. If you go to the Final Fantasy Wiki and type in SOLDIER, you can see the original SOLDIER sprites from the game.

With this fanfiction, I wanted to focus more on the original Final Fantasy VII but still include things from the other compilation games. I'm very much a true-blue fan of the original universe even though I love Crisis Core all the same.

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Two rows of blue in front of two rows of red stood at attention in the gathering hall of the military branch at the Shin-Ra headquarters in Midgar. To the side of the SOLDIER sect was the security sect of the Shin-Ra army, the basic infantrymen. Angeal peers at every soldier with an intense gaze that was piercing enough to cause a few infantrymen to rattle their knees. The very sight of the First Class SOLDIER intimidated them plenty, but not the members of SOLDIER themselves.

Angeal stops before the SOLDIER sect and faces them with the eyes of a proud father.

"Today… marks the beginning of a new chapter in your lives," he began. "Today… you take the next step towards greatness. Never forget your friends and family. Never forget the sacrifices made for you to be here. Embrace your dreams and protect your SOLDIER honor!"

"Sir, yes sir!" all the helmeted SOLDIER members shout simultaneously.

With an approving nod, Angeal dismisses SOLDIER and the infantrymen before disappearing. Once gone, Zen and Kunsel snicker to themselves as they had memorized and mouthed Angeal's every word during his speech. Zack, on the other hand, was less than amused.

"C'mon guys, we're Second Class SOLDIER members now. How about we act like it?" he chastises them.

"Porcupine, even you gotta admit Angeal had it coming," asserts Zen, putting a hand on her hip.

"Even so," Zack argues back with a disapproving look on his face, despite how much he agrees Angeal can sometimes be a broken record.

"I still don't get why you're still wearing your Third Class SOLDIER uniform," speaks up Kunsel, pointing out Zack's navy blue uniform while his and Zen's were dark red. "We got our Second Class SOLDIER uniforms earlier this week."

"Eh, I didn't feel like having to break into another uniform set when I've already gotten myself comfortable in this one," explains Zack, putting his hands into his pockets. "Besides, I look better in blue anyways."

"Whatever floats your boat, Porcupine," Zen rolls her eyes playfully. Stretching herself out after having to stand at attention for so long, she adds: "Well, I'm off to the training room. You guys coming?"

Before Zack could say a word, Kunsel lays a hand on his shoulder and speaks up.

"Yeah, we'll meet you there," he says. "I gotta go back to my quarters to get something."

"Okay," responds Zen, thinking nothing of it.

Once she disappeared from sight, Zack turns to Kunsel and stares at the brunette quizzically. Kunsel nods his head towards the direction of an alternative exit and the two of them began walking back to the SOLDIER barracks. As soon as they were alone, Kunsel lets out an exasperated sigh.

"I've got a problem," he says at long last.

"Gee, I couldn't really tell," chuckles Zack as he walked. "You look so tense, I thought you were going to go fall apart at the seams."

"I… uh… how should I put this…?" Kunsel stutters as he scratches his head. He then began to twiddle his fingers together. "I… I think… I like… Zen."

"Oh," exclaims Zack nonchalantly.

Then he took a double take. "Oh!"

Then it truly sunk in deeply. "OH!"

"I'd appreciate it if you at least use a little more variety in your vocabulary," groans Kunsel, raising an eyebrow.

"Wait, what?" exclaims Zack, looking a little more surprised. "You serious?"

"I know!" Kunsel stops in his tracks and began hitting his head lightly on a nearby wall. "I just… I mean… I don't know what to do!"

"You could, I don't know, tell her how you feel," Zack smirks and crosses his arms.

"I know that, I just…" Kunsel stops hitting his head and lets out another exasperated sigh. "I just don't want to mess up our friendship or anything. And I don't think I can handle a rejection."

"Geez, I don't think you're stuck enough between a rock and a hard place," banters Zack. "Can you make it any harder for me to figure out a solution?"

"Could you… perhaps… ask Angeal for help for me?" wonders Kunsel meekly.

Zack couldn't help but laugh at such a suggestion. "Yeah, I doubt Angeal's total lack of girlfriends is going to give him much to go by."

Kunsel groans upon hearing Zack's answer. "So, what should I do?"

Without a word, Zack simply grabs Kunsel by the belt of his leather suspenders and drags him back to the Shin-Ra headquarters.

"W-w-wait Zack! What are you doing? I don't think—"

"There's no point prolonging this any longer," reasons Zack, his grip on Kunsel still firm. "We're going to the SOLDIER floor and you're going to tell Zen how you feel."

"Aww, c'mon, Zack," pleads the brunette as he trips along. "Couldn't this wait until tomorrow?"

"Kunsel, whining is _very_ unbecoming of you," Zack responds back in a mature tone usually utilized by Kunsel.

* * *

The two young men arrive at the SOLDIER floor just as Zen was getting ready to use the training room. Upon noticing them exit the elevator, the young woman quickly approaches the both of them.

"Some other SOLDIER members are using the training room so we're going to have to wait for our turn," she sighs. "You'd think Shin-Ra would have the money to build another one."

"Oh," exclaims Zack. Not wanting to beat around the bush any longer, he eagerly pushes Kunsel towards Zen. "Kunsel has something to say."

Kunsel's face was blushing so red, he felt as if he was going to explode. Luckily, he was still wearing his SOLDIER helmet so most of his face was hidden away from view. He tries to compose himself as Zen looks on curiously.

"Ahem, Zen," he began very nervously. He pulls the collar of his shirt and gulps. "I… Uh… I…"

Zack rolls his eyes and elbows the brunette in the back.

"I like you!" exclaims Kunsel. Suddenly, it felt like tons of weight was lifted from his shoulders, making him slightly more relaxed. "I like you, Zen."

"Aww, I like you, too, Kunsel," responds Zen with a smile.

"Y-you do?" says Kunsel, surprised.

"Sure, I do," affirms Zen. She then pats him on the shoulder. "You're the best friend a person can ever have!"

Zack was choking back a bout of laughter as Kunsel could literally feel the color drain from his face.

"Oh?" exclaims Kunsel, dumbfounded.

"Ooh, the training room's clear!" chirps Zen, glancing over at the door. "Let's go before some other SOLDIER members beat us to it!"

Kunsel could only watch on in absolute astonishment as the young woman obliviously jogs to the training room. When he was sure she was out of earshot, Zack finally lets out an exuberant fit of laughter. Kunsel, on the other hand, didn't find the situation all that amusing. In fact, he had a sneaking suspicion Zack knew about this beforehand.

"You knew she would be totally oblivious to this, didn't you?" he turns to glare at the young man in question.

"Maybe…" Zack drawls between chuckles. He laughs harder upon seeing Kunsel glare at him even more. "Okay, okay, I knew."

"I thought something was amiss," Kunsel utters angrily. "You've been friends with Zen longer than me so you _have_ to have known her better.

"I can't help it if Zen has no romantic interests in anyone," maintains Zack with a snicker. "She flirts with guys without even knowing it."

"I'm _so_ going to beat the crap out of you," asserts Kunsel as the both of them head over to the training room where Zen stood waiting for them.

* * *

**A/N:** LOL, I had you going, didn't I? I wonder how many readers I lost with this chapter. XD Zen and Kunsel are so incompatible, it's not even funny. Okay, maybe it is. For Zack, anyways. ^_^ Hee hee! Looks like he got his revenge after all.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** I see that some of you have been wondering if Aerith is going to make an appearance in the story. According to Crisis Core, Zack met Aerith as a Second Class SOLDIER and—in this story—he only just recently been promoted to Second Class. So yes, Aerith is forthcoming, but she won't appear for a while. You're going to have to be patient, ZackxAerith fans. :)

* * *

**Chapter 18**

Three figures carefully make their way to a grassy knoll on the outskirts of Kalm. The moon shone brightly in the night sky as the strangers went about setting up camp with only one heavy-duty flashlight, three sleeping bags, and a sizable canvas tent. Once done, they lay their sleeping bags in a circle with the head ends pointed towards the center of the tent. One of the strangers opens the sunroof flap of the tent, creating a window to the starry heavens above.

"Never thought we'd finally get the chance to do this," exclaims Zack excitedly, lying down on his Shin-Ra issued sleeping bag.

"Man, I haven't slept under the stars in such a long time," adds Zen, letting her long black hair out after being tied up all day. "And the country air is SOOO much nicer than the stuffy city."

"You've got that right," agrees Kunsel, laying his head on his hands.

Indeed, camping out like little mischievous kids looking for trouble was something they usually did at least once a month back when they were mere troopers of the Shin-Ra army. Becoming members of SOLDIER really put a damper on their spontaneous tradition as differing mission schedules meant fewer opportunities to do outings like this together. But even when they do get simultaneous days off, most of it was spent sparring one another in the training room. No one said things were going to be easier once they got into SOLDIER, but that didn't mean they couldn't try to make the best of it.

"You know Zen, if you dye your hair silvery white, you could totally pass for a shorter Sephiroth," notes Zack.

"And why on Planet would I do that?" responds the young woman with a raised eyebrow. "Are you saying Sephiroth looks like a woman?"

"Please, he looks more like a woman than you do," banters Zack with a playful grin.

"I'm _so_ going to tell Sephiroth that when we get back," threatens Zen.

"Go ahead. He'd probably agree," continues Zack.

The young man was quickly awarded with a pillow thrown firmly into his face while Kunsel chokes into a bout of laughter.

"Ha ha," responds Zen with a sarcastic scowl, retrieving her pillow back. "This coming from the guy who says we should be more mature since we're Second Class SOLDIER members now."

"At least we'll always have Kunsel for some maturity in our trio," says Zack, looking over to the brunette in question.

"Gee, I feel honored," jokes Kunsel with a smile.

After the three of them finally got settled down, they stare up at the stars overhead in silence for a while.

"You know, back in Hoku Vilage, the kids and I would play this one game at night," spoke up Zen. "A group of us would lie around in a circle like this and each of us would make a prediction about the future as we stare at the stars. For each shooting star that appears afterwards, that means one more of our predictions will come true. So if the three of us make one prediction each and we see three shooting stars afterwards, that means all of our predictions will come true."

"Sounds like fun," notes Zack. "Who wants to go first?"

"I nominate Kunsel!" Zen exclaims happily.

"Allright, fine," chuckles the brunette. He takes a deep breath of fresh air and looks at the stars intently. "I predict… we'll all become First Class SOLDIER members within the next year."

"Ha ha, cool," responds Zack with a smile. "In that case, I predict we'll do something so awesome, everyone will forget about Sephiroth."

"Yeah, you wish, Porcupine," laughs Zen. "I predict… you guys will find really nice girls, move back to your hometowns, and live in nice houses with little Zacks and Kunsels running around."

"That's cute. Little Zacks running amuck," says Kunsel. "Although the idea does scare me somewhat."

"Oh ha ha," remarks Zack. "Just for that, if I have a daughter, I'm naming her Kunselia."

Zen bursts out in a fit of laughter upon hearing that, rolling on her side and hugging her stomach. "Kunselia…"

Just then, a bright star shot its way across the night sky. The three of the watch in awe as it left a trail of light in its wake.

"Only one shooting star," says Zack, disappointed. "I wonder which of our predictions will come true."

"I guess we'll have to wait and see," replies Zen.

Things quiet down again, filling the tent with silence save for the chirping of crickets outside.

"So, Zen," spoke up Kunsel. "How are things going with you and Sebastian?"

"Bastard's still alive, if that's any consolation," utters Zen bitterly. She had been on a few missions with Sebastian since the incident, but the two have done well to tolerate one another having been promoted to Second Class at the same time along with Essai. Zen has taken a liking to the meek blonde and made it a habit of not being violent with Sebastian in the blonde's presence. Although, once Essai is out of the picture, it's a wonder the Shin-Ra headquarters still has a SOLDIER floor. Memories of the training room undergoing repairs for a week remain in all three minds.

"He's pretty tight with Essai, isn't he?" remarks Zack.

"They probably met each other as troopers, just like us," assumes Kunsel. "I know I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you two."

"Aww Kunsel, don't say that," says Zen, pillowing her head on her hands. "You're totally SOLDIER material, with or without us."

They listen to the peaceful chirping of crickets as a soft breeze blows through the tent for a while. Up high above them, the moon shines brightly from its highest point in the sky, blanketing everything in a gentle hue of blue.

"Hey guys," Zack speaks up after some time had passed. "What's going to happen after we become First Class SOLDIER members?"

"Well, obviously, we're not going to stay young forever," chuckles Zen. "I mean, sooner or later we'll retire, go our own separate ways, start our own families, raise our kids to follow in our footsteps…"

"But… what if… all of us don't make it?" Kunsel wonders hesitantly.

A contemplative silence falls upon all three of them.

"Well, whatever happens… happens," says Zen solemnly. "We're only human, after all. Every mission always comes with a risk. We all knew that at the beginning."

Looking up at the stars, Zack couldn't fathom what life would be like without either Zen or Kunsel. They've been together for, what, four long years now? Wow, he didn't realize that so much time had already passed. It feels like only yesterday the three of them were thirteen years old and enlisting into the Shin-Ra army as infantrymen. Sure, there had been plenty of close calls for them in the past, but it wasn't anything Zack couldn't handle. Okay, so maybe he wasn't able to cope with that time when Zen had a sword run right through her and Kunsel had a bullet lodged into his leg. Come to think of it, Zack hadn't really gotten into much serious physical trouble as he usually been able to come out of every mission almost unscathed.

Was he really that much more capable than his friends? Zack shakes his head at the disheartening thought. Living on while his friends die out was not something he was very fond of. He knows very well this team they've created won't last forever. But he can't help but wish it would. Perhaps that was what prompted his rather rhetorical question. He could tell deep down that both Zen and Kunsel have been pondering the same thing. Would they be able to move on if two out of three of them kicked the bucket?

It was depressing to think about it, but not a day passed by Zack and the others didn't think about it. Sure, with confidence and determination, they can pull through anything. But there was nothing to stop any of them from wondering if the next mission would be their last.

Softly out of the blue, Zack hears the sound of someone humming a soothing melody. Kunsel hears it too and knows as well as Zack does where the source was. Even as steadfast about being a tomboy as she was, Zen still retains a hint of feminine charm with her untapped vocal ability. The first and only times they had ever heard the girl express her musical talent were when she was in the shower back when they were still mere troopers living together in a suite. She was embarrassed at first from being discovered, but eventually became comfortable enough with the boys to sing aloud when the situation needed it. If Zen ever has children, they'd be the luckiest kids on the Planet to never have sleepless nights.

As Zen continues her gentle lullaby the three of them gradually drift off to sleep, comforted by sweet dreams of the future.

* * *

Zack found himself back at home in Gongagga, standing at the doorway to his hut-like home after being away for so long. He could hear his mother fussing around in the kitchen, the smell of her special savory tomato sauce wafting in the air. He saw his father sitting down at the kitchen table while his mother lays down a big bowl of spaghetti. Zack could feel tears welling up in his eyes as he couldn't wait to be reunited with his parents and enjoy his mother's cooking once again.

He walks toward the table, but suddenly sinks into the ground before he could reach it. He felt himself sinking deeper and deeper into an unfamiliar lake. He looks up to see a bright white light and the face of a blonde-haired man he didn't recognize. He reaches up towards the man, beckoning desperately for help as he feels his lungs reach its breath-holding limit. At long last, his struggles ended in vain as his lungs let out and water rushes into his throat…

Zack opens his eyes in time to see some furry beast's tongue vigorously lapping up his face. Crying out in surprise, he leaps to his feet to see a very friendly blackish brown pup look up happily at him.

Kunsel hears the commotion and jumps to his feet about as fast as Zack did upon seeing the creature milling about in the tent.

"What the?" he cries out. "How'd _that_ get in here?"

"ZEN!" Zack cups his hands around his mouth and yells loudly to the remaining sleeping form. "ZEN, WAKE UP!"

If there's anything extremely annoying about Zen aside from her irregular hygiene habits, it's how she sleeps like a rock. Literally. She gives new meaning to the term heavy sleeper. Back when they were infantrymen, Zack and Kunsel were simply amazed at how she managed to sleep through the loudest fire drills on the Planet. If those alarms were loud enough to wake the dead but not Zen, something is surely wrong here.

"Crap, crap, crap! What if that thing bites her and gives her rabies?" exclaims Kunsel nervously.

Zack and Kunsel both shudder at the thought of dealing with an armed and rabies-infected Zen. Without warning, they hear Zen stir in her sleep and then what seemed like an eternity passed before she finally opens her eyes.

"Aww, there you are, Conan!" she smiles at the wolf pup gazing up at her.

"Conan?" both boys exclaim in shock.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to tell you guys, but the subject never came up," Zen utters with an embarrassed grin, scratching the back of her head.

"How long have you had this dog?" wonders Kunsel. Then another thought pops up in his head. "_Where_ did you keep this dog?"

"Don't worry, I don't keep him in the barracks," assures Zen, scooping Conan onto her lap. "In fact, I don't take care of him at all. He just pops up out of nowhere and follows me around when I'm alone. And then when I go back to the barracks, he disappears."

"So you're saying he followed you here?" Zack exclaims incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

"Looks that way," Zen shrugs in response. "I wonder why he didn't appear the last few times the three of us were together."

"I'm more interested in _what_ he is," speaks up Kunsel, sitting down next to Zen when he saw that the puppy wasn't aggressive. "Look at the fur coloration. The Kalm Fang species of wolves in this area have a violet hue in their fur. This pup has a brown hue, which means it's a Nibel Wolf species."

"Nibel? As in Nibelheim? On the Western Continent, which is ALL the way over there across the _ocean_?" Zack articulates with hand gestures. "I find it hard to believe a little pup like him would manage to travel all this way."

"Well, this little guy did," says Zen, lifting Conan up to her face.

"What are you going to do with him?" asks Kunsel. "You can't let him follow you around forever. He's going to get hurt or killed sooner or later."

"He's been doing fine so far these past 2 months since I discovered him," asserts Zen, putting the pup on her lap. "I don't know what he eats or where he sleeps, but I think he can manage on his own."

"What a weird pup," says Zack, crouching down to poke Conan on the nose with a finger.

"I think he likes you, Zack the Puppy," chuckles Kunsel as he watches the wolf pup lick Zack's hand.

"I knew you were going to bring that up," Zack scowls in return.

"Wait, what's all this 'Zack the Puppy' business?" wonders Zen eagerly. "What have I been missing out?"

"You can thank Angeal for Zack's new nickname," explains Kunsel. "He says that Zack's so energetic, he's like a rambunctious little puppy."

"If we're referring to rambunctious people, we could call Zen a puppy, too," argues Zack.

"Hey now, I don't want to be the type to encroach on someone else's title," responds Zen, lifting her hands up. "And puppy suits you so much better than me." She scoops up Conan again and puts his face next to Zack's. "See? The resemblance is uncanny!"

The annoyed young man frowns in response as Zen and Kunsel breaks out in laughter.

* * *

**A/N:** The whole stars prediction game thing is something I made up entirely on my own. If there's some culture or something that already does this, it's a complete coincidence. In fact, if there is a group of people out there that does this stars prediction game, please do tell me. I'd love to know about it. ^_^

Gee, I wonder if we'll see that mysterious puppy again. *_gigglesnort*_


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** I just realized after uploading Chapter 18 that SOLDIER's Song finally has an actual music insert. XD If you're wondering what Zen was humming in the tent, it's the main theme of Final Fantasy VII. She comes from a village of explorers after all, so she's sure to have come across the melody somehow.

* * *

**Chapter 19**

The sun shines brightly overhead as Genesis and Zen march onwards to their destination in the northern Gongaga area. Today's mission was to investigate yet another monster outbreak due to a Mako reactor malfunction. Zen hasn't been on one of these missions since her near-death struggle at Wutai and she wished the suspension period on them would last longer. These investigations usually clear up pretty quickly, leaving less time and opportunity to get some monster slaying in.

Putting a gloved hand up to her mouth, Zen lets out an exasperated yawn as she watches Genesis' taller form walk ahead of her with an infantryman flanking each side. She hated going on these kinds of missions most of all, even back when she was a trooper with Zack and Kunsel. Investigating Mako reactors were very boring and mind-numbingly uneventful missions. The first few times she's been on these missions, she'd hope to come across some mutant beasts or some challenging creatures to test the might of her horse cutter on. The novelty of the thought died down after a dozen or so of these missions and so Zen had been resigned to complete and utter boredom.

"Do we _really_ need First Class and Second Class SOLDIER members for these kinds of missions?" she groans exasperatedly.

"The Mako from the reactor can cause unpredictable mutations to the environment around it," explains Genesis matter-of-factly as he walked along. "Better to overestimate than underestimate in case it's a very powerful mutation."

"If that's the case, then how come I've never seen anything like that happen on these missions?" Zen glowers.

Genesis turns around and shrugs with a smirk. "I guess you're just unlucky."

_Great. Just fantastic_, thought Zen with a sigh.

After another half hour of walking, the group finally found the Mako reactor they were looking for, erected deep inside a Gongaga forest in the midst of a clearing. Zen opts to stand and wait outside while Genesis and the infantrymen go in. Once you've seen five Mako reactors, you've pretty much seen them all. Shin-Ra isn't exactly creative when it comes to building their reactors. Plus, guard duty seems much more appealing when compared to the mundane task of checking every component of a Mako reactor for defects.

Once they all went inside, Zen began wandering around the outside of the reactor looking for something, _anything_ interesting to keep her occupied. She traverses the circumference of the reactor to find—well, what do you know—nothing.

Sighing in disappointment, the young woman then circles the reactor in a wider radius, veering into the forest as she did so. The chirping of birds and rustling of furry critters fill the air as Zen wanders on. Another thirty minutes had passed before she checks over in the direction of the reactor to find that Genesis and the others were still inside. She doesn't remember how long it takes to typically investigate a reactor, but these things aren't exactly the size of a house so she predicts they could be here for as long as three hours at least.

Seeing that everything within fifty feet of the reactor was as harmless as an ant, Zen proceeds to wander out even deeper into the forest.

_Genesis should be tough enough to deal with mosquitoes at least_, she thought.

Walking in a northwest direction from the reactor, the young woman eventually comes across a cave. Giving silent thanks to Gaia for providing her some means to escape boredom, she eagerly scampers up to the rocky opening. She aims an ear towards the interior of the cave, utilizing her enhanced hearing abilities to discern whether it was occupied or not. After a few minutes of hearing dripping water, Zen decides that it was safe enough to enter.

She takes Promise from her back and grips its handle firmly as she enters the dark and damp cave, wary of anything that might suddenly jump out at her. She sees a faint light in the distance and follows it to determine what its source was. As she wanders deeper into the cave, the light became brighter and brighter. The next thing Zen knew, she was in a rather large chamber where some shiny, glowing crystals lay embedded into the rocky walls on the far end.

_Whoa_, she breathes with fascination. _Man, if only Porcupine and Kunsel were here to see this. I wonder what these are. I think Sephiroth once told me something about naturally occurring materia. Maybe that's what these are!_

Zen chuckles at the idea of SOLDIER members decked out in materia armor in all their shining glory. That would suck the magic energy out of anyone.

The young woman withdraws her sword and began to walk towards the crystals to examine them farther. However, the closer she got, the more she became uneasy for some odd reason. Then, as soon as she got within seven feet of the crystals, Zen doubles over in pain.

It was strange. All of a sudden, it felt like her blood was boiling within her veins and arteries. As she backs away from the crystals, the pain eases a little but not enough. Fearing what was happening to her, Zen quickly scrambles out of the cave towards the Mako reactor. As she ran, the pain suddenly spikes and began to become more intense in the area of her shoulder blades. She couldn't figure out for the life of her what the heck was going on with her body. Did she get bit by some undiscovered bug or were the materia crystals tainted in some way?

Zen collapses at the base of the Mako reactor just as Genesis and the infantrymen came out of the entrance. Her entire body felt like it was getting stabbed in all directions by invisible, scorching needles and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Genesis…" she groans, looking up at the First Class SOLDIER with pleading Mako eyes as she clutches her stomach. "H-help…"

Instead of a helping hand, Zen was instead greeted by shocked expressions on the face of Genesis and the infantrymen. Not knowing what to make of their reactions, she looks up at the clear blue sky above and blacks out.

* * *

Swords clash against each other as Zack tries hard to defeat his doppelganger. Not far from him stood Angeal, watching onward to see if the young man had improved within the last month. Judging by the beads of sweat dotting Zack's forehead and the fact that his sword has yet to inflict any injury on the Zack copy after thirty-seven minutes of fighting, it doesn't look very good for Zack.

After a few more minutes of fighting with no significant improvement, Angeal finally takes out his PHS and inputs the option to cancel the simulation. Soon after, the Zack copy and the world around them break up into pixels and fall away to reveal the interior of the training room.

"Aww, c'mon, I almost had him," whines Zack, panting heavily.

"How about no?" responds Angeal, flipping his phone closed and heading towards the door.

Zack follows his mentor out the door to the SOLDIER lounge, where a handful of SOLDIER members of the Second and Third Class variety were standing around waiting for the training room to be available. As soon as they see Angeal and Zack appear, they all walk towards the now open training room, emptying the lounge until only Zack and the First Class SOLDIER were left.

"You're distracted," notes Angeal once the last of the SOLDIER members disappeared from the lounge.

"What? No, no, I'm fine," assures Zack.

As experienced as Angeal was with people, he didn't buy it for a second. "You're worried about something."

"No, I'm not," affirms Zack. He sees Angeal cross his arms and stare at him with those grim I-don't-think-so Mako eyes of his. "Okay, so I've been having these weird dreams."

"Weird dreams?" reiterates Angeal, cocking his head to one side.

"Yeah," continues Zack. He walks over to one of the lounge benches and sits down. "It always starts with something nice and happy. And then it ends with me sinking in some body of water and unable to swim up."

"Interesting," notes Angeal, bringing a hand to his chin in thought. "How long have you had these kinds of dreams?"

"Well," began Zack, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. "Ever since that mission I had back when I was a trooper. The one where we fought the people of Fort Condor."

"Ah, I remember that," says Angeal. "Didn't it fail?"

"Yeah, it did," remarks Zack. "That was where Zen and Kunsel got really badly hurt and… I couldn't do anything to help them."

"You felt useless," interprets Angeal.

"I just…" Zack trails off as he tries to sort out his thoughts. "Ever since that day, I always worry that I'll lose them. Every time I worry about them… dying in a mission, I get these dreams. Back then, I only get them once in a while, but they've gotten more frequent after that mission to Wutai."

Angeal sighs and takes a seat next to his protégé.

"Zack…" he begins. "This is a problem everyone in the Shin-Ra army encounters when they've become close friends with their comrades. It's hard to care about them when you need to take care of yourself. You just have to find the courage to change what you can and accept what fate hands us."

"Do you feel the same way about Genesis and Sephiroth?" wonders Zack, turning to his mentor.

"We just decide to live each day as if it's our last," answers Angeal. "After some time, you just learn to not take life for granted and live in the moment. It's easier that way."

He puts an assuring hand on Zack's shoulder. "But most of all, you need to have faith in your friends' abilities to take care of themselves. You've already gotten this far. There's no reason to think that you won't be able to go all the way."

Zack's tight-lipped mouth gives way to a relieved smile. "Thanks, Angeal."

"Anytime, Zack," Angeal nods with a smirk.

"Well, seeing as the training room is occupied," says Zack with a much happier spirit. He notices that night had fallen on Midgar after looking out the window panels. "I'm hungry. How about dinner?"

"Sure," agrees Angeal.

* * *

Zack was fast asleep on his bed when he hears some loud pounding noises coming from his front door. Groaning, he tries to will the visitor away and plops his pillow over his head in a futile effort to drown out the pounding. When he realizes the visitor wasn't going away, he groggily waves his hand around to find his digital alarm clock. Once it lands on the plastic box, he turns it towards him to look at the glowing red time.

_5:30 in the frickin' morning!_ he thought, irritated.

Wearing nothing but grey pajamas pants, Zack forces himself out of bed and stumbles his way to a wall to flick on a light switch. Momentarily blinded, Zack blinks his Mako eyes a few times to adjust to the sudden illumination of his SOLDIER quarters and waddles towards his front door. He groans. The frantic pounding was starting to give him a headache.

With a push of a button, the door to Zack's room slides open to reveal a disheveled Kunsel, who was still clad in his dark red Second Class SOLDIER uniform minus the belts and armor for some strange reason.

"Kunsel?" greets Zack as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes. "Do you know what time it—"

"Zack, it's terrible!" Kunsel interrupts quickly, looking clearly distraught about something. "Zen, she's… she's…"

"Causing trouble again?" questions Zack with a smirk.

"No, Zack!" Kunsel grabs Zack's shoulders firmly, his face dead serious. "She's gone, Zack. Zen has disappeared!"

* * *

**A/N:** And now I leave you with a cliffhanger. BYE!

*runs off before her readers give chase with torches and pitchforks*


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Alright, alright, here's the next chapter! Please don't hurt me!

* * *

**Chapter 20**

Zack paces back and forth furiously in the lounge of the SOLDIER floor as he waits for Genesis to come down after his helicopter lands on the top of the Shin-Ra headquarters. Kunsel couldn't do anything but watch his friend worry tirelessly over what happened. He was worried, too, not only for Zen but for Zack as well. When he told Zack about what happened to the young woman, the guy nearly collapses out of extreme stress at the front door. Although, Kunsel didn't fare that much better, but seeing Zack getting this emotional was something he wasn't used to seeing.

Not far from them stood Angeal, leaning on the wall nearest the training room. He was also worried for Zack, but even more concerned with the disappearance of a SOLDIER member of all people. A disappearance usually meant desertion and deserters don't get treated very well if they were discovered. He knows that Zen was not the type to abandon her closest friends so easily, but the possibility was still there.

After another thirty minutes of waiting, the elevator dings open to reveal a rather emotionless Genesis. Zack was the first to reach him, dashing towards the man as soon as he steps out of the elevator.

"What happened to Zen? Where is she?" demanded Zack, gripping onto Genesis' jacket intensely.

Genesis seems to be staring off into space, not really noticing Zack and his erratic behavior.

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess," he recites melodiously. He then turns his gaze towards Zack, his expression unchanging. "We seek it thus and take to the sky."

"Don't give me your LOVELESS crap now!" Zack exclaims impatiently. "What happened to Zen?"

"Zack, calm down," commands Angeal, pulling the young man from Genesis with the help of Kunsel. "Overreacting is not going to get you anywhere."

"He knows where she is! He just won't tell us!" Zack argues back angrily, struggling to break free of the men's grip on him.

"Zack, get a hold of yourself!" pleads Kunsel, arduously holding his friend back from violently assaulting Genesis. "It's obvious to see that Genesis is still in shock about what happened to Zen. We're not going to get an answer from him now while he's like this."

Realizing that interrogating the First Class SOLDIER so soon was going to be pointless, Zack finally concedes and falls onto his hands and knees in defeat.

"Damn it," he curses, closing his eyes tightly to prevent the tears from falling.

As Zack struggles with his emotions, Genesis begins to walk towards the SOLDIER lounge.

"Ripples form on the water's surface," continues Genesis, heading towards the windows. "The wandering soul knows no rest."

* * *

Cicero walks briskly through one of the many metallic hallways that connect the Shin-Ra headquarters to the upper plates of Midgar. These passageways allowed Shin-Ra and certain city personnel to do maintenances undisturbed, away from the public eye. For Turks such as Cicero, these were essential to executing their many missions for the company, as enemies outside of Shin-Ra and Midgar are unaware of these utility halls.

He suddenly notices a helmeted SOLDIER member coming in his direction. As he adjusts his eyeglasses, he instantly recognizes the individual as a Second Class rank from the red uniform. Cicero thinks nothing of it as SOLDIER members also have authorization to make use of these hallways to patrol the city.

The SOLDIER member passes by him and then stops abruptly. Cicero stops in his steps as well, but makes no move to turn around. He had a strong feeling he knew this particular Second Class SOLDIER.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he says outloud. "Sir Kunsel."

The SOLDIER member remains in his position facing the other direction. "You say that as if she's already dead."

"It's in my experience that those who end up MIA tend to never be seen again," explains the Turk. "It's easier for those close to the missing to simply assume they're dead."

"Zen's not dead. She's alive," asserts Kunsel firmly, clenching his fists. "I know she is."

"You say that with such confidence," notes Cicero. "What makes you so sure she's still alive and well?"

"When you've been friends with someone like Zen, you just know," Kunsel explains matter-of-factly.

"Is that so?" wonders Cicero, adjusting his glasses again. "Are you sure it has nothing to do with… your spiritual bond with the Planet?"

Kunsel remains steadfast in his position, but Cicero knows that he's struck a chord with the young man.

"I know what you are…" exclaims the Turk. "Cetra."

He hears the sound of a sword being withdrawn and turns to see that Kunsel has his SOLDIER-issued sword's blade at the Turk's throat.

"How long have you known?" demands Kunsel, his Mako eyes blazing beneath his SOLDIER helmet.

"You don't see very many people with brown hair and green eyes," says Cicero, remaining calm and composed. "Also, I am a Cetra myself. Those of us with more experience with our powers can sense others like ourselves."

Kunsel's eyes widen at the revelation, but his grip on his sword remains firm and steady.

"Your hair…" he began.

"It's amazing what a little hair dye can do to change one's appearance so drastically," explains Cicero.

Kunsel has a hard time envisioning the Turk with brown hair as he has been used to seeing him blonde for so many years.

"Why can't I tell where she is?" he inquires, still holding the sword at Cicero's throat.

"Bonds are tricky little things," answers the Turk. "All life on the Planet are connected in some way or form. Imagine if you will, a simple string attached to people who know each other, even us. Like the web of a spider. Relationships such as friendship can strengthen a string between two individuals into a strong cable. When you flick that cable, it resonates more strongly than the strings, do they not? But when a web vibrates, can you tell where the vibration originates? No. That is why you can sense that your friend is still alive, but can't pinpoint where she is."

Kunsel looks on at the man curiously. He never really understood the extent of his Cetra abilities so this explains a lot of things.

"Is there a way to find Zen with my powers?" he asks.

"That," replies Cicero with a smirk. "Is much more complex than you think. Certainly isn't something that can be taught quickly, considering how much time you have to find her."

Kunsel furrows his brows upon hearing that. Shin-Ra is definitely not going to give him and Zack the time and resources they need to find Zen. She could be hurt or worse, which is all the more reason to find her as soon as possible. But the needs of the company outweigh the needs of the people that help keep it alive and he knows it. Still, as a Second Class, there must be something that he can do.

"So…" he exclaims. "What happens now?"

"That all depends on you," responds Cicero. "Obviously, killing me will not bring you closer to finding your friend again. And there's no point in me spreading the word about your Cetra heritage as that would endanger myself as well."

Kunsel narrows his eyes at the older man. Something tells him that the Turk did not have Shin-Ra's interests high on his list of priorities. "Why are you here?"

Cicero lets out a small chuckle at the question. "The answer… lies with your missing friend."

With that, the Turk smugly turns around and continues on his way, leaving the young SOLDIER member to contemplate on his words.

* * *

That evening, Zack collapses facedown upon his bed in a flustered heap. He had spent the whole day worrying over Zen's disappearance and was tired both physically and emotionally. He heard nothing from Genesis since the First Class SOLDIER member's debriefing and training with Angeal did little to ease his troubled mind.

Whispers have begun to spread around Shin-Ra of Zen abandoning Shin-Ra or even joining up with the Wutai resistance. But those that knew Zen well strongly believes otherwise, which gave Zack some sense of relief. At least for the time being.

Turning himself over, Zack glances over at his bookcase where a handful of books and reports lay horizontally in scattered piles. He leans over his bed and reaches out for one particular report that documents an incident that occurred one month after he, Zen, and Kunsel were promoted to Third Class SOLDIER status. An incident that nearly ended their SOLDIER careers as soon as it has started.

He opens to the first page where a photo of Zen was paperclipped to a report page. A scrawled out sentence sticks out strongly on the page:

_Suspected of murder_.

Zack narrows his eyes at the words and turns the page to read the rest of the report.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, how else would Kunsel know so much about what Zack's doing in Crisis Core? The only plausible explanations are: he's a pre-Reeve and planted some sort of device on Zack to monitor him (which is really creepy); or he has Cetra powers, which could enable him to sense the life force of a person he's bonded with (since Aerith was able to tell when Elmyra's husband died). Yeah, the latter is a lot more appealing.

Don't worry, you'll find out more about the incident Zack is reading about in the next chapter. :) I'm not going to leave you guys in the dark about it.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** This chapter is one big flashback to the incident that happened after Zack, Kunsel, and Zen were promoted to Third Class SOLDIER members. There's a reason for this flashback as you'll soon find out. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 21**

_On that day, about one year ago…_

Third Class SOLDIER Zack couldn't believe what he was seeing. Right there on the video screen in front of him was the image of a Third Class SOLDIER. Killing a Shin-Ra employee. In broad daylight.

"Play it again," he orders after the video clip blacks out.

Cicero rewinds and replays the video for the third time. Zack furrows his brows deeply as he struggles to come to terms what he was seeing in the video. The navy blue uniform, the tied-back long black hair, the horse-cutter sword… it was undeniable that the culprit could be anyone other than Zen.

_But that face_, thought Zack. _It looks so… sinister. That can't be her. There's no way_.

"Sir Zack?" spoke up the blonde Turk.

"I want to see her," demands Zack.

"Visiting hours are almost ov—" began Amira, stepping forward.

Cicero cuts her off by extending his arm in front of the female Turk. "I'll take you to the prison hold."

Zack nods in response as Amira looks on indignantly. The blonde Turk leads Zack out of the conference room they were in to the specialized SOLDIER prison hold in the basement levels of the Shin-Ra headquarters, which requires the elevators to get to.

As the elevator sent the two speeding downwards, Zack replays the events that had led up to this point in his mind. A month had already passed since he, Kunsel, and Zen were promoted to Third Class SOLDIER status. The three of them did not anticipate being involved in a series of murders that started happening a few days ago. Three Shin-Ra employees were mercilessly killed and all evidence pointed to an insider. It wasn't until a video feed was captured yesterday that they finally had a suspect to go on.

No one had expected it to be Zen, except for Amira who already was distrustful of the girl due to her only Wutai connection. Yet, even in the face of such damning evidence, Zack still refuses to believe that his friend could be capable of such attacks. It was not in her nature to engage in fights with unarmed opponents and he knew it.

The elevator stops with a ding and Zack and Cicero step into a long metallic hallway of prison cells. Each cell was only big enough to hold a foldout cot, a sink, and a toilet, just like your typical jail cell. Except the ones built for SOLDIER members came with extra security such as electric bars and reinforced concrete walls. Zack can hear the buzzing of the electric bars coming from the very few occupied cells.

He and Cicero stop in front of one cell where two infantrymen stood guard. Inside the cell, a figure sat solemnly on one side of the cot in the dimly lit room. The person turns and eagerly gets up as soon as Zack came into view.

"Zen…" he exclaims sadly. "What have you done?"

"I didn't do anything," the Third Class SOLDIER member asserts firmly. She approaches the bars but is careful not to touch them as she had done so earlier and received quite the shock of her life.

"Have you seen the video feed?" wonders Zack.

"Yes, and it's not me, regardless what _they_ think," exclaims Zen, motioning to Cicero with her Mako eyes.

Zack continues to look at her sadly. It was obvious he wasn't sure what to think despite what he feels in his heart.

"It's not me, Porcupine!" Zen was starting to get frustrated. "You _know_ I wouldn't attack an unarmed person, especially in cold blood like that. C'mon!"

"The murderer looks just like you," says Zack matter-of-factly.

"You act like I'm the only one with long hair," counters Zen, referring to a particular First Class SOLDIER they both knew very well.

"_His_ hair isn't black," affirms Zack. "Nor is it tied back."

"_And_ I got the design of my sword from a book," continues Zen. "You may not see a lot of people with big swords like mine around, but Promise certainly isn't one of a kind."

"The evidence is pretty solid, Dame Zen," intervenes Cicero. "It's unlikely the murderer is anyone but you."

"Which is exactly the point!" exclaims the sixteen-year-old, irritated. "I'm being framed!"

"By who?" wonders Zack.

"How should I know?" Zen throws up her hands in the air and rolls her eyes. "I wouldn't be here if I knew. Obviously it's someone who hates and stalks me, which explains why they've been able to mimic my personality and appearance so accurately."

Her heart sinks as she looks into the still sad expression on Zack's face.

"You don't believe me," she concludes despondently.

"Zen, it's not—" began the young man.

"I thought we were friends, Porcupine," Zen averts her eyes, unable to look at Zack anymore. "At least Kunsel believes in me."

Zack creases his eyes and stands up straight with hands rolled into fists.

"Let her out," he orders the guards.

"But Sir Za—" began Cicero.

"I'll keep an eye on her," asserts Zack, turning to the older man with determination in his eyes.

"The company will not allow that and you know it," articulates the Turk. "It's well known that the three of you are very close. They're not going to be likely to let you supervise Dame Zen. If anything, you'll be seen just as guilty on association alone."

"Porcupine, don't do this," exclaims Zen worriedly. "It's bad enough I'm getting this sort of attention. I don't want to jeopardize your chances of becoming First Class."

"All for one and one for all, remember?" reiterates Zack, turning to smile at his friend. "We're in this together and we'll get out of it together."

"Well _we_ won't be having any of that."

The three of them turn to see Amira approaching them, her short brown hair never looking out of place on her meticulously cared head.

"If there's anyone who's going to supervise this girl, it'll be me," she asserts firmly. Turning towards Zen, she adds. "And if anything happens, I will not hesitate to draw my weapon."

"Well, you're going to be disappointed to discover nothing will happen in my presence," affirms Zen, crossing her arms. "Because I'm innocent."

"I'll be the judge of that," Amira sneers.

She motions to the infantrymen and one of them press a button to slide open a hidden panel containing a keypad. Entering the keycode, the cell bars slide upwards, allowing the occupant within to exit the cell safely. Before Zen could even approach Zack, the other infantryman quickly shackles her left wrist with some sort of weird black bracelet.

Zack's eyes widen in surprise, but the calm demeanor on Zen's face tells him not to worry.

"A simple precaution," explains Amira, taking what seems to be a small black box from one of the infantrymen. "It's an electronic bracelet we use on criminals we monitor. If anything goes awry…"

She presses a button on the remote control and an intense shockwave flows through Zen. The young woman groans in pain as she falls to one knee.

"…That will be the result," finishes Amira rather coldly.

Zack was horrified by the spectacle. It was undeniably painful for him to see one of his best friends be treated like some sort of dangerous animal.

"Don't… worry… Porcupine…" Zen groans as she slowly gets up on her feet. She looks at him and manages a grin "I'll be okay. You'll see."

* * *

The next day, Zack heads over to the training room as usual. Both Kunsel and Angeal were off on separate missions and with Zen on lockdown, there wasn't much he could do to avoid going alone. It was near the end of the afternoon when he got to the SOLDIER floor of the Shin-Ra building. Stepping out of the elevator, he could easily see the sun sinking into the horizon through the panel windows that lined the lounge area of the floor.

Almost as soon as Zack lays a hand on the door, the intruder alarm sounded throughout the building. He remembers Zen was going to check out the exhibit hall and heads for the stairwell toward the lower floors. Bursting through the door of the 35th floor, he was greeted with the shocking sight of a slashed up body.

Trying hard not to throw up, the Third Class SOLDIER operative slowly walks around the corpse, trying to identify the victim. Judging from the outfit and high heels, it was a female Turk and the hairstyle determined that it was no other than Turk Amira herself.

Zack's stomach sinks deeply as he stuggles to find his footing. Amira had been escorting Zen ever since she was put on lockdown, making sure she knew exactly what the young woman was doing, eating, and even sleeping. He could tell it was pretty nerve-wracking for Zen, but she assures him that she would be able to put up with it if it meant proving her innocence. But with Amira's body here and Zen nowhere in sight, it was starting to look very likely she really was the murderer.

He hears some noise in the distance and dashes towards its source, navigating through hallways until he ended up in one of the many utilidors that run under the Shin-Ra building. The noises have stopped and Zack struggles to hear where the culprit could've gone in the steel-lined corridors.

The sudden sound of footsteps causes Zack to turn around and come face to face with none other than a surprised Zen.

"I'm so glad you're here!" she exclaims breathlessly. "The imposter jumped us quickly. I didn't have time to draw my sword because he had turned the lights off and when the emergency lights came on…"

Zen looks down despondently. However, Zack was more than happy to know what had happened. This meant that Zen really was innocent and not the true murderer.

"It's okay, Zen," assures Zack, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go find that killer and put an end to all of this."

Nodding, Zen walks alongside Zack as the two of them traverse down a path.

"Maybe after all of this, we can go get something to eat afterwards," suggests Zack.

"Sure thing, Zack," responds Zen.

Zack's eyebrows raise upon hearing the reply.

"What did you call me?" he asks nonchalantly.

"Zack," says Zen. "Unless you changed your name last we met."

"Right…" says Zack.

In one swift move, he draws his SOLDIER-issued sword and attacks Zen. The Third Class operative quickly jumps out of the way in confusion.

"Zack! What the heck…?"

"The real Zen doesn't call me by my real name," exclaims Zack, holding his sword ready with both hands. "Also, you're not wearing the monitoring bracelet."

A sinister smile crosses the imposter's face. Zack was struck dumbfounded as the person's voice went from feminine to masculine in the span of a few seconds.

"I guess I didn't do enough research on the bitch," admits the imposter. He glares at Zack with bloodthirsty eyes. "But this can be our little secret."

Before Zack could think, the imposter swings his horse-cutter sword down upon the Third Class' head. Zack just barely blocks the attack with his sword, leaping back to gain some distance. The imposter swiftly lays a series of slashes on him, putting him on the defensive. Zack could only block the attacks as the killer left him little time to counter. In a matter of minutes, the imposter had him on the floor, ready to deliver the final blow.

"Die, Shin-Ra scum!" cackles the imposter.

Zack closes his eyes and awaits his fate, only to hear the sound of metal clashing against metal. He opens his eyes to see the blade of a second horse-cutter sword blocking the imposter's. Standing over him was the real Zen, the monitoring bracelet still clasped onto her left wrist.

Almost immediately, the crazed look on the imposter's face melted away into a serious one. Zen slashes him back wit her sword and moves in front of Zack to defend him.

"Well, well, well," sneers the imposter. "If it isn't the traitor herself."

"Why did you kill those innocent Shin-Ra employees when _I'm_ the one you're after?" demands the female fighter.

"Innocent?" spat the imposter. "Anyone who dares to work for Shin-Ra is lower than dirt. How dare you betray your homeland?"

"I did not betray Wutai," asserts Zen, gripping Promise's handle more firmly with both hands. "Wutai betrayed me."

In the blink of an eye, Zen was at the imposter's position, lashing out with her sword. The imposter counters quickly and the two engage in a blindingly fast fight. Even with Mako enhancements, Zack's eyes could barely keep up with the speed of the two warriors.

The next thing he knew, the imposter was on the floor, battered and bruised. Zen stood over him with sword still in hand, but the desire to finish him off was missing from her eyes.

"What are you waiting for?" coughs the imposter. "Kill me."

"Hate begets hate, as it is with war," responds Zen. "I'm not here to kill. I'm here to bring peace to both Wutai and Shin-Ra."

"Heh," scoffs the imposter. "If you think you can make Shin-Ra peaceful, you're dreaming an impossible dream. The company is filled with nothing but lowly bastards."

"Then it's time for it to change," says Zen, placing her sword on her back. "Senseless killing gets us nowhere."

She turns to walk over to where Zack still lays. She reaches out a hand to help him up.

"You okay?" she asks him with a smile.

"I'll live," chuckles Zack, grabbing her hand with his.

As soon as he got up to his feet, his eyes widen in horror as the imposter runs up with his sword at the ready. Reacting fast, Zen pushes Zack out of the way and pivots around to deliver a punch squarely onto the imposter's throat. The man gurgles his last breath as he falls to the floor dead on arrival.

Zack's eyes and mouth remain gaping wide open, unsure of what to make of what he had just seen. Zen sighs disappointedly, putting a hand over her eyes and hanging her head.

"I didn't want to resort to that," she says solemnly. "I'm sorry."

"Zen…" exclaims Zack. He turns to look at the corpse near them, which looked morbidly identical to his friend.

"He's a rival who trained in the same martial arts style Teacher taught me," Zen explains, knowing full well what Zack was wondering.

"Why did he call you a traitor?" asks Zack. "Did you really…?"

Zen shakes her head. "All a misunderstanding."

Her fists clench tightly as she continues to avert her gaze from Zack.

"Towards the beginning of the war between Wutai and Shin-Ra, Teacher vehemently opposed declaring war," she began. "Lord Godot didn't like that he was trying to disrupt the then militant nation so he exiled Teacher from Wutai. My family moved with him because they also did not accept Godot's desire to fight. We've been living in Hoku Village ever since."

"Do you think he's responsible for your family's death?" wonders Zack.

"No, the monster attack was not directed," answers Zen. "My family wasn't accepting of me training in the martial arts. But I was determined to learn it in order to protect them. Heh, ironic isn't it?"

Zack lays a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You saved _me_."

A reluctant smile cracks across Zen's face and she turns to face him. "I guess that's progress."

"It's something at least," affirms Zack.

"Well, I guess we should go report our findings," suggests Zen with a sigh. "I chased the guy down here because I knew there'd be cameras around every corner. I'm sure there's a few that's got him red-handed. It's a shame what happened to Turk Amira, though."

"To be honest, I was so sure you were the killer when I discovered her body," Zack admits sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, it wasn't like you were a big fan of hers and all."

"_Yeah_, she really didn't like me until the very end," utters Zen. "When the imposter got her, she fell on the remote control for my bracelet. Bastard got a head start because I was getting shocked like no tomorrow."

She raises her left hand where the electronic bracelet was sparking sporadically from a broken section.

"I had no choice," she pouts. "I smashed it against the wall before I took off. Guess Shin-Ra doesn't make things like they say they do."

Zack couldn't help but laugh at her predicament. "You just have the worst luck, don't you?"

"I'm just awesome like that," Zen notes sarcastically.

The two of them began walking to the nearest elevator, leaving the imposter's body behind for the Turks to take care of.

"Hey, Porcupine," Zen speaks up when they got close to the elevator.

"Yeah?" responds Zack.

"I've always wanted to know what it's like to have a brother," she says to him. "Thanks. For making my dream come true."

* * *

_Back at the present…_

Zack sits up on his bed with a start, nearly knocking the entire report onto the floor. He scrambles to grab his cell phone and presses a number to speed dial. Upon hearing a voice on the other end, he excitedly began talking.

"Kunsel! I know where Zen is! Meet me at the helipad in half an hour. We're going to the Ancient Forest."

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you guys enjoyed that little flashback. Now all of you nitpicky people know why we don't see Amira anymore.

Will Zack and Kunsel find Zen? Tune in to the next chapter to find out!


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** Ah, it seems I've made a mistake in my chronology of canon events. In a previous chapter, I noted that Zack met Aerith as a Second Class due to my apparently muddled memory of the game. (It's been a while since I finished Crisis Core.) Thanks to a brief review of Crisis Core cutscenes, it turns out that he indeed didn't meet Aerith until after he became a First Class. My apologies!

That only means it'll be even LONGER before Aerith appears in this story. *sinister laughter* Oh, don't pout! This _is_ a SOLDIER story, after all. :3

And I just realized that this month marks the first anniversary of this fic since I started writing it last year! *tosses confetti into the air* Wow, hard to believe I've been working on this fic for a whole year and still going. Here's to another year of writing!

* * *

**Chapter 22**

The sun was peeking over the horizon when Kunsel sleepily reached the helipad on top of the Shin-Ra headquarters. Zack had managed to convince Angeal to charter a helicopter for them to get to the Eastern Continent where the Ancient Forest was located. The First Class SOLDIER member understood how important this was to his protégé and made the necessary arrangements to get the helicopter, which surprised Kunsel somewhat.

He spies the eager Zack waiting for him next to the helicopter, the blades already spinning dizzily. Putting his arm over his face to protect his eyes from the pulsating wind coming from above, Kunsel steps into the helicopter alongside Zack. As the helicopter takes off, Zack looks out the window down at Angeal, who gives him a thumbs-up for luck.

The sight of Midgar shrinking steadily behind them, Zack looks to Kunsel, who was already staring out a window in thought.

"…How'd you figure she'd be in the Ancient Forest?"

Zack was taken aback as Kunsel turns to look at him. "I remember she told me one time… That her favorite place in the world was the Ancient Forest."

Kunsel tilts his head curiously. "Why? It's hot, humid, and there's not a lot of clear-cut pathways there."

"She says it's the only place for her to feel at peace with herself," continues Zack, rolling his hands into fists. "Remember the time when I found out that her family was dead?"

"Yeah…" Kunsel replies uncomfortably. "Was that where she went when she disappeared around that time?"

Zack nods in response. "If she's in trouble or anything, that'd be the only place she'd be."

"And no one would be the wiser," adds Kunsel. "Her hometown would be the first place Shin-Ra would look and we both know they'd never find her there."

Zack takes a deep breath but clenches his fists harder.

"… Do you think… she's still alive…?" he wonders hesitantly.

"She's alive," affirms Kunsel with steadfast Mako eyes.

"How can you be so sure?" asks Zack.

"I believe she's still alive," Kunsel utters meekly. "I believe in it with everything I have."

He looks Zack in the eye. "We'll find her, Zack. I… I just know we will."

* * *

It took them three days to reach the Ancient Forest, located on a mountain range in the Cosmo Area of the eastern continent. The canopies of the trees were so thick and dense the helicopter could only land in a clearing outside of the forest about a mile away. For a normal person, it would be a long hike to the forest, but for two seasoned SOLDIER operatives, it was a short walk.

The two of them didn't sleep very well the night before, when they landed at Cosmo Canyon to refresh themselves for the journey ahead. Remembering that night when the three of them slept under the stars together and made plans for the future, Zack and Kunsel blaze through with high hopes in their hearts.

They did not realize the gravity of what laid ahead of them until they reach the edge of the forest. There was no way they would be able to comb through the dense foliage with just the two of them. Their only choice was to split up and hope Gaia would bless them with the best of luck.

Taking out his SOLDIER-issued sword, Zack begins hacking and slashing through vines and shrubs, shouting out Zen's name all the while. It was hard to imagine how the Second Class SOLDIER member would hear him through the sounds of birds and other forest inhabitants scurrying in the underbrush. He somehow manages to find his way to a path and starts following it deeper into the forest.

Suddenly, he spots something unusual on the long leaf of a plant. He rushes towards it to find that it was a pure-white feather. He feels compelled to pick it up and sees something was stuck to the bottom end. Thankful that both of his hands were gloved, he proceeds to touch what looks to be a blackish substance that reminded him of blood.

_Maybe it's from a monster Zen fought_, thought Zack as he rubs the substance between his index finger and thumb.

Thinking he was on the right track, Zack drops the feather and hurries through the pathway until he comes across a clearing void of tall trees. He sees another feather on the ground before him and walks over to it only to suddenly jump back and draw his sword.

A huge dragon-like lizard comes bursting through the forest and glares at him with yellow serpentine eyes. It growls fiercely, showing sharp, silvery teeth the size of daggers. It makes a swipe at Zack, who quickly dodge-rolls out of the way with ease. Zack counters with his sword, cleaving a sizable cut across the side of the reptilian. The monster roars angrily and swings its massive tail. In the blink of an eye, Zack was sent flying back through clusters of trees and lands painfully near the edge of a cliff.

_I'm going to be feeling that for a while_, thought Zack as he struggles to get to his feet.

As soon as he stood on his feet, the monster was already on him, forcing him back towards the cliff's edge. Zack had no chance to react as he loses his footing and falls.

He could feel the air pressure change as he fell, certain that his time was near as his breaths became shorter and short. Looking up at the sun overhead, Zack thought he saw something flying towards him. The last thing he remembers before passing out was the feeling of arms wrapping around his waist.

* * *

The sun overhead was beaming its light into Zack's face as he slowly came to. Groaning, he instinctively puts his arm over his face to shade his eyes when he realizes that he wasn't dead.

He sits up quickly, causing his head to throb from the sudden movement. Bringing a hand to his head, he scans his surroundings to find that he was still in the Ancient Forest, sitting in the midst of a small clearing. He hears a sound and turns to see the back of someone sitting a few feet away in the shadows of the trees. But what widens his eyes in surprise more was the sight of a full pair of wings folded up on the person's backside. He tries to get up, but falls back due to his still-throbbing head.

"Relax, you're safe here," says the person.

Zack could feel his throat become heavy as he struggles to say what immediately came to mind upon hearing that person's voice.

"…Z…Z…Zen…?" he stutters as he finds his voice again.

Zen turns to see him, her entire left side still hidden in shadow.

"Hey, Porcupine," she greets with a meek smile.

* * *

**A/N:** Wow, that was quick! Good job, Zack! You should fall down long distances more often. Oh wait…

Just want to let you guys know that I've got a job now so I don't have as much time to work on this fanfic as I would like. Nonetheless, I will be trying my hardest to keep up monthly updates at the very least so feel free to let this fanfic idle in your favorites for a while. ^^;


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** I've always wondered what would've happened if Hojo included female SOLDIER subjects in his Jenova experiments. From what we could see from the games, all the main SOLDIER guys affected by the experiments ended up with only one wing. Perhaps only those in SOLDIER that can bear offspring are given full pairs of wings? (That's my theory and I'm sticking with it!)

* * *

**Chapter 23**

Zack wanted so much to jump up and hug Zen like no tomorrow, but unfortunately his injuries were more painful than he could tolerate. He simply lies where he was, continuing to stare at his friend with a huge grin on his face.

"Have you been gaining weight or something?" begins Zen with a chuckle, still wearing her dark red Second Class SOLDIER uniform. "Took me everything I had to carry you back up here."

"You… caught me?" wonders Zack with eyes wide in surprise.

"Of course I did," responds Zen, flexing both wings on her back with her tied-back long hair running down the middle. "You'd rather I let you fall to your doom?"

"No, but," stutters Zack. He quickly changes the subject. "What's with the…" He nods toward Zen's newfound ability to fly.

"I'm not so sure myself," says Zen, folding her wings back. "But they sure help in a pinch like just now."

"I'm so glad you're okay," Zack tells her happily, managing himself to sit up.

"Well…" begins Zen, her tone suddenly changing from happy to gloomy. "Define 'okay'."

The happy expression on Zack's face gradually morphs into a look of horrification when Zen turns to face him fully, revealing her entire body under the light of the sun overhead.

A horrendous blackish bruise ran from the left side of her chin down to a good portion of her left arm. Her eyes cast downward upon seeing the shocked expression on Zack's face. She knew very well that she looks utterly terrible despite the contrasting purity of her wings.

"Zen…" exclaims Zack, finding the strength to get up on his feet while still staring at the bruise on her exposed skin. "W-what is that?"

He reaches out to touch the bruise, but Zen quickly shuffles back away from him.

"Don't go near it!" she cries out. She places her right hand over the bruise on her left arm. "I… I don't know what's wrong with me. And I'll be damned if I let you and Kunsel get infected by this."

"Is that why you didn't return to Midgar?" asks Zack, pulling his hand back. "Zen, this looks really serious. We need to get back to HQ so you can get fixed up."

"But what if what I have is contagious?" counters Zen worriedly. "And there's no way of knowing if Shin-Ra has the capacity to fix this. At least the humidity here will wall me off from getting others sick."

"What are you saying then?" says Zack, peering at his friend strikingly.

Zen averts her gaze from him. "I'm not going back to Shin-Ra… At least, not until I can figure out how I can cure myself of this."

Zack could feel his heart drop to the deepest pit of his stomach. To continue his journey to First Class without Zen was the farthest thing from his mind. In fact, he never wants it to ever pass. They've been through so much together that to not have her in his life was just unthinkable.

Just then, Zen doubles over in pain as blackish blood began to seep out of her bruise. Groaning, she clutches her left arm as she goes down on one knee. Zack rushes to her side, but is careful to respect her wishes and keep his distance from her bruise. He could only watch as the infected blood ooze out of her skin grotesquely.

"Zen…" he exclaims quietly after the bleeding had passed. Zen was panting heavily from the intensity of the pain running through the left side of her body.

"It happens every once in a while," Zen manages between breaths. "I think it's my body trying to purge whatever's infected me."

"Zen, c'mon," pleads Zack. "Come back with us to Midgar. We'll find a way to get you fixed up."

"Zack," says Zen, laying her right hand on his shoulder and looking at him straight in the eye. "You can't depend on me forever. You have to learn to stand on your own two feet."

Those words sunk in deeply as Zack watches Zen slowly get to her feet. True, he has been very emotionally reliant on Zen ever since they met. Although he can handle going solo on missions, he considers Zen to be a security blanket of sorts. Her presence gave him a sense of peace he could never get with anyone else. He supposes he looks up to Zen as a social mentor similarly to how he views Angeal as his SOLDIER mentor.

"I… I just…" utters Zack, feeling very downtrodden.

"I know you care about us, Zack," begins Zen. "But you're only holding yourself back waiting for Kunsel and me. Don't let us get in the way of your dream. I know you can do a lot better than that."

She holds out her right forearm and smiles that warm, friendly smile of hers. "Show me you have that SOLDIER pride Angeal's always going on about."

Smiling back, Zack walks over to bump her forearm with hers when Zen's expression suddenly changes to shock.

"Look out!"

She pushes him to the ground in time for the reptilian monster Zack encountered earlier to charge through the clearing and snatch up Zen in its jaws.

"ZEN!" Zack cries out and draws his sword.

Zen manages to punch the creature in a tender spot near its eyes, causing it to drop her onto the ground. But before she could roll away, the monster quickly brings its claw down on her and traps her on the ground facedown. Zack could only watch in horror as the monster clamps its mouth down on Zen's wings and tears them right out of her back with a sickening rip.

Hearing Zen yell out in pain, Zack lets out an angry cry and slashes at the claw holding his friend down. The monster roars loudly as it releases the SOLDIER operative under its claws, who quickly dashes away.

Appearing next to Zack, Zen struggles to stand through the searing pain rippling through her back. Zack could see a lot of blood seeping out from where her wings once sprout.

"Whoever summoned Basilisk really wanted to get rid of us," Zen laughs painfully. She manages to draw out Promise and stands ready to strike with her horse-cutter in hand.

"You allright?" Zack responds back with overwhelming concern.

"It's just a flesh wound," she retorts humorously.

Zack could tell Zen was trying really hard to block out the pain. The severity of her wounds demanded immediate medical attention, but they weren't going anywhere with the reptilian summon standing before them. Zack had to do something fast as time was running out even quicker for his friend.

"Hey Zen," he begins, gripping the handle of his sword tightly as a swirl of red energy began to engulf his body. "Remember our strategy for fighting insanely huge monsters?"

Zen grins in return as red energy was surrounding her own body as well.

"Attack the crap out of it until it dies," she answers, adjusting her grip on Promise.

Together, the two of them look up at their monstrous adversary and prepare to go beyond their limits. In the blink of an eye, they rush towards the monster at full speed and start hacking and slashing away at the creature. Not a single movement was wasted as Zack and Zen fought, seemingly moving as one. As a final strike, Zen leaps up above the monster and throws her sword down at it while Zack dashes through from below and delivers a mighty slash across the monster. The reptilian roars loudly, struggling to remain on its four legs as it staggers back and forth. Finally, it falls to the ground with a giant thud and begins fading away in wisps of green.

"Yeah!" Zack hoots vigorously, punching the air with a fist as the creature fades. "We did it, Zen!"

He looks around to find that his friend had fallen where she had landed, her weakened body not moving at all. Worry quickly washes over him as he runs to her.

"Zen!" he calls to her, kneeling down to gently turn her over.

Zen manages a grin with a chuckle. "That was one heck of an attack, huh Porcupine?"

"It sure was," breathes Zack, grateful that she was still alive. He pulls her closer, careful to avoid adding pressure to her still wounded back. "I think that's a new Limit Break. What should we call it?"

Zen looks at him with her Mako eyes as she thought.

"Omnislash," she says after a few moments.

"Yeah, Omnislash," agrees Zack happily. "It'll be our ultimate attack. Not even Sephiroth could stand a chance against it."

He suddenly notices Zen's eyes falling listless.

"Zen!" he exclaims. "Hold on. I'll get you to the helicopter."

He wraps her right arm over his neck and supports her waist with his left arm. As he tries to walk his friend to the nearest pathway, he feels some resistance from her body.

"My… sword…" Zen manages to say, trying to point a hand towards the blade.

Looking towards the midst of the clearing, Zack could see Zen's horse-cutter, it's blade embedded halfway into the ground where she had thrown it through Basilisk. He nods and proceeds to carefully help Zen go towards the sword to retrieve it.

"I'm… sorry…" Zen utters quietly.

"It's okay," assures Zack. He thought he heard something more and looks down at his friend. "Did you say something else?"

He didn't hear an answer and figures it was just his imagination.

"I can't wait until we get back to Midgar," Zack began to talk as he went. "A lot of people thought you went and joined up with Wutai, but Kunsel and I knew better. You seem to have a fanclub of your own as well. I'm sure all of those people are going to be pretty ecstatic to see you again. Then maybe we could go eat sushi or some—"

Zack pauses in his steps just a short distance away from Zen's sword. He just felt Zen's body become heavier than it should. He slowly looks down at his friend, her bangs hanging over her face more so than before.

"Zen…?" he quietly calls out. He adjusts his hold on her, thinking maybe she was getting heavier because his hold on her was slipping. "Zen?"

He didn't hear an answer. He assumes she had probably fallen asleep, but deep down in the pit of his stomach, he knew. Zen wasn't the type to fall asleep so quickly, especially right after a fight they just had.

"Zen?" he calls again, a hint of whimper in his voice. "Zen…? Please… answer me…"

She still didn't answer, and never will ever again. He looks over to where Promise stood, just close enough for him to reach over and pull out of the ground. Slowly, Zack kneels down to turn her over on the ground. Seeing her eyes closed as if in slumber was what finally causes him to break down. As the realization painfully sinks in, Zack pulls her lifeless body closer to him and quietly begins to sob. Overhead, the sun continues to shine its light down through the canopy, its beams bathing Promise in warmth.

_We're friends now, aren't we?_

_And what do you mean by 'unsightly'? I think it suits you just fine._

_Well then, we'll just have to be exceptionally awesome!_

_Well, whatever happens… happens. We're only human, after all._

_I've always wanted to know what it's like to have a brother. Thanks. For making my dream come true._

_I'm sorry… I won't be there to watch you grow up anymore…_

* * *

**A/N:** I am a horrible, horrible person for killing off my own OC. Bad, AznTigress, BAD! Oh well, it's not like any of you guys actually like her, right?

…Right?

Yes, Zen is the very first case of Geostigma. If you haven't figured out why or how, I suggest reading through the story again to catch the clues. :) If you're too lazy, well, I guess you'll just have to wait a while for a full explanation. (Which may or may not be in _this_ story.)

And yay for breaking clichés and having Zen die without rain falling like every other story out there. With her personality, she'd rather die while the day is bright instead of downcast anyhow.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N:** Very quick chapter here! Hopefully I'll get more time to make the next one longer. ^^;;

Sorry to those who liked my Zen character (strange hygiene habits and all). If you decide to stick around after this story ends, I do have some surprises in store for you folks. :)

* * *

**Chapter 24**

The helicopter ride back to Midgar was filled with solemn silence. Kunsel could still remember the feeling he got when his Cetra powers told him that Zen had passed on and seeing Zack clutching her body when he finally found them. But seeing Zack sitting across from him looking depressed, his feelings at that moment were nothing compared to what Zack was experiencing.

Zack hung his head as he sat in the helicopter, his Mako eyes focused on the floor beneath him. He suddenly sees white and looks up to discover Kunsel offering him a tissue.

"You've got a cut," says Kunsel, wearing his SOLDIER helmet so Zack couldn't the redness in his eyes. "On your left cheek."

Zack stares at the tissue a bit before he finally accepts it. Holding onto it for a moment, Zack looks over to the window on his left to see that there was indeed a small vertical cut on his cheek in his reflection. He could feel a slight pain as he lays the soft fabric over the crimson wound. He must have received that cut while in the Ancient Forest earlier, but from what he wasn't sure. He didn't mind the mark becoming permanent, for it was the only memento he had to remind him of Zen.

He had left her horse-cutter sword behind in that clearing to mark the location of her passing. He didn't have the heart to move it from that area. More than likely, Zen wouldn't have wanted to have her sword taken back to her hometown, the place of her worst memories. It seemed more fitting to leave it in her favorite place in the world.

"Three times."

Kunsel tilts his head to the side slightly upon hearing that. "What?"

"She's saved my life three times since we met," clarifies Zack, looking down at the line of blood staining the white tissue. His hand shakes as he crumples the tissue into his fist. "She's saved me so many times and I couldn't even save her once."

"Zack…" Kunsel utters sadly.

"How can I call myself a member of SOLDIER," Zack grimaces as he shuts his eyes tight to keep the tears from falling. "When I can't even save a friend?"

* * *

Angeal could only look on grimly as he watched his protégé and Kunsel exit the helicopter without a third SOLDIER operative in their midst. He lets out a sigh and hopes that the news isn't too bad.

"Is Zen badly hurt?" wonders Angeal when Zack came up to him.

Zack could only look to his mentor sadly and immediately the First Class knew from the look in the young man's eyes. His heart sinks for the young SOLDIER member.

"I'm sorry for your loss," says Angeal.

"Yeah…" responds Zack.

Angeal could tell the young man was doing all he could to maintain his composure in his presence. He felt helpless not knowing what he could do to ease Zack's pain.

"Thanks… for the helicopter," adds Zack, trying to block out the sadness.

"It's no problem at all," replies Angeal. "You'll find that the Director is not as strict as you think he is."

Zack simply nods and continues past his mentor towards the SOLDIER floor. Kunsel appears next to Angeal and the two of them watch Zack walk off into the Shin-Ra headquarters. He looks to the First Class SOLDIER operative and wonders inwardly if he knew of what happened to Zen from Genesis.

_It feels like Shin-Ra is keeping something from us_, thought Kunsel. _But what?_

He looks up at the twilit sky overhead.

_Zen… Why did you leave us so soon?_

* * *

The lights came on automatically as Zack enters the SOLDIER training room. He walks over to a control panel and punches in the code for a particular simulation. Once done, he heads over to the sliding door that leads into the training area and steps in unhindered. Within minutes, the white technological walls, floors, and ceiling of the room gave way to a forest with trees reaching high into the sky. He immediately recognizes the place as the forests near Gongaga and gazes over the familiar shrubs and foliage that dotted the area.

A Gagighandi appears and swipes at Zack with one of its aqua green claws. The SOLDIER operative makes quick work of the monster with one swing of his sword. Another leaps out from behind a bush and a swift turn allows Zack's blade to cleave through that monster. Zack watches as both monsters' corpses fizzle away, a couple beads of sweat running down the side of his head. These monsters weren't what gave him a hard time; it was trying to take his mind off of what happened and acting that nothing bad happened that caused Zack to pant in exhaustion.

He suddenly hears footsteps behind him and turns to see none other than Zen herself.

_Is it?_ he thought as relief hits him. He pauses though and closes his eyes. _No, that's just Zen's data. She's not really here_.

But the sight of her data standing before him was more than Zack could handle. He feels a fiery rage bubbling inside of him as he readies his sword. In the blink of an eye, he strikes and the Zen data blocks the attack as well as the real thing.

"Why?" he grimaces as he swings his sword at her again. "Why did you leave us? Why did you leave _me_?"

The Zen data counters back with a series of slashes, forcing Zack back to block her attacks.

"You said you'd always be there for me!" he yells out angrily, bringing his sword on the Zen data's head.

The data immediately blocks his sword with her own, a computer replica of Promise. The Zen data then slides back and readies her sword for another attack.

"But you're not here anymore," Zack sobs, falling to his knees and letting his sword fall. "Because it's my fault... I convinced you to join SOLDIER... You got hurt because of me… You died because of me… I should be the one who's sorry…"

He takes out his cell phone to cancel the simulation, but hesitates to confirm it. With his eyes welling up, he couldn't bring himself to press the button and drops the phone. As the phone hits the ground, it beeps quietly and in minutes, the Gongaga forest broke away into millions of pixels. Zack's tear-filled eyes looks on as the Zen data fades into nothingness.

* * *

Two weeks have passed since then and thus far the two of them have been holding themselves up in their respective quarters, although Kunsel has tried to contact Zack on a couple of occasions during that time to no avail. Angeal had requested for both Second Class SOLDIER operatives to have some time off from doing missions in order to help them get their bearings straight, so to speak. Loss was never easy to deal with, especially the loss of someone so near and dear as a best friend.

One day, Kunsel found himself at the door of his friend. He lifts a hand to knock on the sliding door, but hesitates. Would his presence remind Zack too much of their time with Zen? What could he possibly do in this situation to make things better?

Taking a deep breath, he lets his fist hit the door a few times before a beep sounds out and the thick metal plate slides to the side to let him in.

It was dark inside Zack's quarters, which instantly strikes Kunsel as unusual. His friend's place was always well lit during his waking hours—more importantly when visitors are over—as Zack wasn't considered very neat by any means. He smiles as he recalls their time living together as infantrymen and how Zen had smacked Zack around for leaving his dirty socks on the floor the first few days.

_Zen…_

The thought of her not being around anymore saddens him, but at the same time he feels a renewed strength knowing that she would always be remembered.

As Kunsel walks farther into the suite, a strange scent hits his nose and he struggles to identify what it was.

_That smell… is it… alcohol…?_

His toe suddenly hits something on the ground, the sound of softly rolling glass ringing immediately. He began to feel nervous about what lay hidden in the darkness.

"Zack?" Kunsel calls out as his hand slides along the wall, blindly seeking the light switch. "Zack, are you in here?"

He hears a groan in response and quickens his search for the light switch. Upon feeling a slight plastic protrusion after a few minutes, Kunsel hastily presses the button and his eyes widen in shock as the resulting light illuminated the sight before him.

Lying in bed and still in his sleepwear consisting of a pair of pants and a loose t-shirt, Zack's Mako eyes peer out in irritation from the surface of his overly used off-white pillow. His spiky hair was sticking out all sorts of ways like a messy pincushion covered in needles. His navy blue blanket was just barely hanging onto the bed, having been kicked out all over the place in fits of frustration. To put it shortly, he was a complete mess.

But the mess was something Kunsel was used to. What he was more shocked about was the empty beer bottles scattered all over the floor. Zack wasn't much of a drinker, usually downing one or two bottles every once in a blue moon. But the amount that Kunsel saw implied Zack probably had a whole dozen to himself in one sitting. How long has he been doing this?

"Zack… Have you been drinking?" he asks his friend.

Zack responds with an apathetic belch and turns away.

This was not good. Not good at all. Kunsel brings a hand to his face and pinches the bridge of his nose as he closes his eyes. He knew things were bad but he never expected things to take this turn for the worse. He had never seen his friend become this pitiful and it hurt him to see him this way. He should've been more aggressive with trying to get into contact with Zack sooner and feels guilty for not doing so.

"C'mon, Zack. Get up and get changed. We're going to the training room," Kunsel says determinedly. Zen and him were always watching out for Zack and he feels he should shoulder the duty now that she was gone.

"What's the point?" mumbles Zack, digging his face into his pillow.

"What's… the point…?" Kunsel repeats in surprise. "What do you mean 'what's the point'? It's your dream to become a First Class, is it not?"

"… no use…" Zack mumbles some more.

"Why is it no use? Are you saying you can't become a First Class without both of us around?" continues Kunsel, referring to both him and Zen.

The silence that followed only served to anger the brunette even farther. In a fit of fury, he grabs Zack by his t-shirt, pulling him completely out of his own bed and slamming the young man into the wall.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard coming from _you_ of all people!" Kunsel yells out angrily, Mako eyes blazing. "You encounter one setback and you give up? What would Zen think?"

"… Zen's… dead…" says Zack, the pain very visible in his face.

"So what?" Kunsel nearly screams. He hangs his head in frustration as his grip tightens on Zack's t-shirt. "So what if she isn't around to punch some sense into you anymore? Are you _that_ useless without us? Without her?"

He looks up to see tears welling up in Zack's eyes.

"It's my fault she's dead," Zack grimaces. He slides down to the floor as Kunsel releases his hold on him. "She wanted to join SOLDIER because of me. If she had remained part of Shin-Ra's infantry, she'd still be alive."

As his words sink in, Kunsel finally realizes what has caused Zack to go down the road of pathetic alcoholic so easily. Quietly, he goes down on one knee and looks Zack straight in the eyes.

"Is that what you truly believe?" he asks him.

Zack didn't answer. He was already drowning himself in his tears once again, his face still red and puffy from a previous downpour.

"Zack," began Kunsel more calmly. "Zen would've gotten into SOLDIER with or without you. We both know she's that capable."

He lays a hand on Zack's shoulder.

"Everything she did, she did because she wanted to see you achieve your dream," he continues. "You gave her a little brother, so she wanted to give you a First Class rank. She wanted to do whatever it took to help you get there, because you gave her the one thing she lost a long time ago."

Zack looks at the Second Class SOLDIER with confusion.

"Hope, Zack," says Kunsel. "You took away her guilt and gave her hope. So don't feel bad. She died in peace."

At that very moment, a huge wave of relief overtakes Zack. The heavy feeling of sorrow and guilt that he had been feeling 24/7 for the past two weeks was replaced with an overwhelmingly peaceful reprieve. It was as if his eyes, which have been closed for so long, were finally opened to the light. As hard as it was to accept that Zen was no longer a physical part of his life, not having her around anymore gave him the true push he needed to really progress towards his dream.

_Time to get up, Porcupine._

Standing up again, Kunsel holds out one hand to Zack.

"C'mon," he says. "Let's go."

Wiping the remaining tears from his eyes with one arm, Zack grabs Kunsel's hand.

"Yeah," he responds with a smile.

* * *

**A/N:** The best thing someone could get from loss is peace. Guilt, revenge, and anger only serves to keep time from healing the wound left behind by a loved one. It's amazing how many people choose to refuse peace.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N:** Now with Zen out of the picture, the events of Crisis Core will begin to unfold in this fic. Hope you're ready for the ride!

* * *

**Chapter 25**

A month passes with not a single mission scheduled for both Zack and Kunsel. Zack didn't think much of it, as he knew Angeal did request time off for the both of them to help them get over Zen's death. But he couldn't help wondering when he'll be back in action again. He never really got around to asking Angeal how much time off he requested for them, even after their most recent training mission.

It was evening by the time Zack and Angeal came out of the training room. Angeal said that he had to go take care of something, so Zack was left to himself in the lounge doing squats in the meantime. It wasn't long before Kunsel walks in to catch his friend in the act.

"You seemed pretty worked up," notes Kunsel with a smile. It gave him peace of mind to know that Zack was back to his old self, more or less. "Should I assume training with Angeal went on as usual?"

"If by 'usual' you mean nothing good, then yeah," responds Zack dejectedly as he continues his squats.

Kunsel shrugs. "Better than terribly bad, at least."

Zack smiles at the sound of that. It was just the kind of thing that Zen would say to make things better. Even if she wasn't around anymore, what pieces of her persona that's rubbed off on the two of them is enough to keep her alive in their hearts.

"Looks like we're the only ones not getting missions since everyone's gone," says Zack, changing the subject. "I know Angeal requested for us to have some time off, but I think six weeks is kind of overkill."

"You haven't heard?" Kunsel looks to his friend curiously. "There's been a mass desertion from SOLDIER."

Zack stops in his squats and slowly stands up in disbelief.

"What?" he exclaims, looking to his fellow Second Class operative.

"From what I heard, a First Class disappeared and some Second and Third Classes went missing as well," explains Kunsel, crossing his arms in contemplation. "Just happened. Don't know how many exactly, but it's enough for the company to take it pretty seriously."

_Is that why Angeal suddenly ended our training earlier?_ wonders Zack.

As if on cue, the First Class operative in question appears. Kunsel stands at attention as Zack looks on calmly.

"We've got work to do," Angeal says to Zack. "Let's go."

"It's about time I get a real mission to do," Zack responds gladly, pumping his fist. Despite the smile on his face, his thoughts still remained on the recent desertion.

Once he and Angeal both walk off towards the briefing room, Kunsel flips open his cell phone to do some searching.

_Could this have anything to do with Zen's death?_ he thought as he navigates with the phone's buttons. _If the missing First Class is him…_

With some sophisticated finagling, he finally comes across the information he was looking for. Satisfied but not completely happy about the intel, he flips his phone closed and heads over to the briefing room to meet up with Zack.

* * *

Inside the briefing room, Zack was finally introduced to the executive manager of SOLDIER himself, Director Lazard. The blonde-haired man notes his happiness to finally meet the one and only Zack Fair and shakes the young man's hand to affirm the introduction. With that, they get down to business as to why Zack and Angeal have been called in.

"A while ago we lost contact with First Class Genesis, who was on a mission in Wutai," begins Lazard. "Soon after, we lost contact with several Second and Third Classes who were with him." He turns to Zack. "Do you know anything about this?"

"Not at all," responds Zack. "I never really got to know him all that much." He pauses. "Zen on the other hand…"

"…Yes, she did end up on quite a few missions with him," affirms Lazard. "But that is neither here nor there as she is unable to contribute to this discussion." He shoots a glance at Zack and notices that the young man was looking slightly despondent. "In any case, we need to end this war once and for all."

He brings up a map of the Wutai area in question.

"Since much of SOLDIER is busy at the moment, we're sending you and Angeal in to destroy Fort Tamblin," continues Lazard. "I'll be coming with you to monitor your progress."

Zack looks at the blonde man questionably until Angeal speaks up.

"I've nominated you for First Class status," proclaims Angeal nonchalantly.

At first, Zack couldn't believe what he had just heard, looking on his mentor with a blank stare on his face. Then once the concept sank in, Zack couldn't help but light up in utter elation.

"Seriously?" he exclaims. He runs over to hug the First Class operative. "Angeal! You are the be—!"

"Don't embarrass me," snaps Angeal, roughly pushing the young man away from him.

"Uh, right!" shouts Zack, composing himself and standing at attention.

"Once your preparations are done, we'll head out," affirms Angeal, turning to Zack.

As Zack, Angeal, and Director Lazard prepare themselves for the new mission to Wutai, the blonde executive manager of SOLDIER strikes up a short conversation with the budding SOLDER operative.

"So Zack, what is your dream?" wonders Lazard. "To be a First Class, I presume?"

"Nope!" Zack responds confidently. "I want to be a hero."

"Is that so?" says Lazard, adjusting his glasses. "A sad dream, but a good dream nonetheless."

"Excuse me?" exclaims Zack, looking a little surprised.

"I hope I didn't offend you with my comments towards your departed friend," says Lazard, changing the tide of the discussion. "I'm sorry for your loss. I hope this will not impact your performance on this mission in any way."

"Thank you, Director, but you really don't need to worry," assures Zack, his expression deadpan. "I will not fail in this mission. You have my word."

As he heads out the door, he stops and turns to look back at the executive manager.

"For your information, I haven't lost anything," adds Zack. "It's as the old saying goes: a person is only truly dead if he or she is completely forgotten."

With that, he disappears through the door, leaving Lazard to smile at his determination.

* * *

Hours later, Zack found himself in the land of Wutai once again. With Angeal by his side, the two SOLDIER operatives make their way to the Wutanese fortress of Tamblin. Having been on missions with Angeal plenty of times ever since he joined SOLDIER, Zack thought nothing much of it as he walks along.

Suddenly, they come to a hillside overlooking Fort Tamblin. Here they are to wait until they're given the signal to strike. In the meantime, Zack tries to strike up yet another conversation with his mentor.

"I've never seen you use your sword," notes Zack as he crouches down with Angeal. "Isn't it kind of a waste to have a sword and not use it?"

"If I use it, it'll get dirty, rusty, and worn down," responds Angeal. "Then it'll be even more of a waste."

"Are you serious?" wonders Zack, cocking his head at his mentor.

"I'm not rich enough to buy another one," banters Angeal. "We poor people got to make everything last, you know."

"Are you trying to be funny?" says Zack.

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion in the distance, causing the two of them to stand up.

"That's our cue," says Angeal. "Move out!"

More than ready for a fight, Zack leaps into action and blazes through the entrance of the fortress, cleaving through every enemy Wutanese with ease. It took some time for him to navigate the maze-like corridors of the fort riddled with secret doors. No doubt intentionally built for the very purpose of confusing enemy intruders. Like him.

About an hour later, Zack finally makes it to the heart of the fortress. He felt a little uneasy not seeing a soul in sight, as he was supposed to meet up with Angeal around here after the First Class had finished setting up explosives.

Suddenly, a voice cries out in the night, causing Zack to scan the area to look for its source. It wasn't long before a little girl with short black hair appears before him, all ramped up and ready to fight.

"Uh," exclaims Zack, scratching the back of his head. "Hi?"

"Begone Shin-Ra SOLDIER!" proclaims the little girl. "I am Wutai's mightiest warrior! Your reign of terror ends here!"

"Hey, kid," responds Zack. "You should go home. It's dangerous around here."

"You're the one who should be going home!" the little girl points an accusing finger at the SOLDIER operative. "You're in enemy territory!"

She proceeds to attack Zack, her meek hits doing little to nothing to him.

"Take that!" she shouts as she fought. "And that! And THAT!"

Feeling that he had enough of the kid's tricks, Zack decides to feign defeat.

"…Oh no. You've got me," he says jokingly as he pretends to fall.

"Ha! That'll teach you!" says the little girl proudly. "I will protect Wutai's peace with my strength, just like my idol!"

With that, she disappears as quickly as she had appeared. Zack watches as the girl runs off and smiles to himself.

"Protect Wutai's peace, huh? Heh, sounds like someone I know," he says aloud, remembering Zen. "Well, time to get back to work."

With no more enemy resistance to meet him, Zack heads into the dojo only to be greeted with two very large anti-SOLDIER monsters. Roaring loudly, the Vajradhara Wu and the Vajradhara Tai grasp their weapons tightly as they prepare to attack. With sword drawn, Zack confidently dashes headfirst into the midst of the two monsters.

The Vajradhara Wu swings its axe at Zack, who expertly deflects it with his sword. He turns to narrowly dodge the swordmace of the Vajradhara Tai that came soon after. Ending up behind the Vajradhara Tai, he lands a hit on the creature's back and follows it up with a few blasts of Fire. Suddenly, the two monsters sync up their attacks and deliver a terrible blow on Zack from their Twin Tomahawk attack. The SOLDIER operative quickly put some distance between him and the monster to gulp down a bottle of Potion before proceeding to finish them off with a couple of rounds of Chain Slash.

Dusting himself off for a job well done, Zack withdraws his sword and flips open his phone to contact Angeal.

"Second Class Zack here. No problems encountered," he reports confidently.

"Good work," responds Angeal. "I'm almost done here. We'll meet up in 5 minutes."

"Roger that," confirms Zack, hanging up his phone. He interlocks his fingers together and stretches his arms out. "Well, I'd better hurry and meet up with Angeal."

He begins running for the door when a giant shadow engulfs the arena of the dojo. He barely dodge-rolls out of the way of a Vajradhara Rakshasa, a big brute with a nasty ball-and-chain flail to go with it.

"I don't have time for this!" shouts Zack, grabbing the handle of his sword.

In the blink of an eye, the Vajradhara Rakshasa was swinging its flail around rapidly. Zack rolls out of the way of the heavy geometric weight as it came crashing down on the ground. Before he could finish drawing his sword, the beast backhands him right into a column. The impact hit the back of Zack's head so hard that he was unable to stand up straight. Holding up his sword defensively, he struggles to put some distance between him and the monster as it came stomping towards him.

_Is this the end for me?_ he thought as the Vajradhara Rakshasa raises its weapon. _Is… is this how Zen felt when she saw her time was coming?_

Just then, the monster stops in its tracks and falls back onto the ground. Behind it, Zack could discern the form of Angeal. As his vision sharpens, he saw that his mentor was actually wielding Buster Sword, which surprises him.

"Lending my strength to you again?" chuckles Angeal. "If this keeps up, I'm going to start charging interest." He turns to survey the area to make sure there were no more enemies to worry about. "Is there something in your eye?"

"Heh, no," Zack manages a smirk as he wipes a tear before it fell. He tries to change the subject. "I thought you don't like using your sword."

"You're a little more important than my sword," replies Angeal, withdrawing Buster Sword. He turns to Zack and smiles. "Just a little."

He holds out a hand, which Zack reluctantly grabs with his own.

"Thanks, Angeal," he says.

* * *

On the way back to their encampment, Zack and Angeal meet up with Director Lazard, who has very good news about Zack's prospects in SOLDIER. As he spoke to the two SOLDIER operatives, the three of them were suddenly ambushed by a group of attackers that look eerily similar to SOLDIER members.

"Zack, escort the Director back to camp!" orders Angeal, taking out a SOLDIER-issued sword in place of his Buster Sword. "I'll distract them so you can escape!"

"Roger!" affirms Zack, motioning to Lazard to follow him.

Once they were gone, Angeal makes quick work of the attackers, blocking and counterattacking until they all lay defeated at his feet. Making note of their appearance, as he was troubled by the fact they looked similar to SOLDIER operatives, Angeal begins to head towards the encampment to join up with Zack when he hears a familiar voice ring through the air.

"As expected, they are nothing compared to the might of a true SOLDIER operative."

He turns around to see none other than Genesis standing over the attackers' bodies.

"Genesis," exclaims Angeal, his eyes narrowed.

The ginger-haired First Class takes a step towards his friend.

"You look like you want to tell me something," says Genesis with a haughty smile. "Well then, don't leave me in the dark. Out with it."

"…Why?" asks Angeal.

"Why?" repeats Genesis incredulously. "Is that all you wanted to ask me?"

"You've changed, Genesis," says Angeal. "Ever since that day in the training room—No…Ever since that Second Class disappeared…"

"You mean the one who was blessed with the gift of the goddess?" articulates Genesis. "She was lucky, that one. She died a hero, like any warrior would want."

"What happened that day?" asks Angeal, tightening his fists. Part of him wanted to know for Zack's sake, but another side wanted him to know for his own sake. "Tell me."

The two of them suddenly hear rapid footsteps coming from the direction of the camp. Angeal didn't need to investigate to know it was Zack coming back to aid him.

"If you really want to know," begins Genesis, holding out his hand. "Come with me… old friend."

* * *

"Angeal!" Zack yells out as he ran. "Angeal!"

He stumbles upon the attackers and sees that Angeal had been able to take care of them without his help. Looking down, he couldn't help but stare at what the attackers were wearing.

"What the?" Zack exclaims, stunned. "These guys don't look like Wutai soldiers…"

He looks around to find his mentor only to be greeted with a giant flash that engulfs the entire area. Blinking his eyes open, he found himself in a volcanic realm with a horned beast standing before him.

"A summon?" he gasps, taking out his sword. "Who summoned it?"

In all the years he's been with Shin-Ra, Zack had only encountered one summon beast and it was the Wutanese that summoned it during one mission. At least Leviathan was refreshing to fight, so to speak. Ifrit, on the other hand, isn't so pleasant.

Zack rolls out of the way as the flaming summon launches a flaming punch at him. He looks through his slotted armlet to find only a Cure Materia and a Lightening Materia.

"I should've grabbed an Ice Materia when I had the chance," Zack notes nervously.

Ifrit quickly rushes towards Zack, furious flames following right behind him. Zack cries out in pain as he was knocked down and burned all at once.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" he whines as the fire licked his skin.

Before Ifrit could make a second rush at him, Zack does a kip-up and activates his Cure Materia as he ran. He suddenly makes a sharp turn just as Ifrit rushes past him and strikes the summon with one hit of his Lightening Materia. He then dashes forward and unleashes Chain Slash on the creature, causing it to fall in defeat.

With the monster down, Zack sets about looking for Angeal once again. He didn't hear Ifrit slowly getting up behind him and before he knew what happened, the summon creature shoots a fireball straight at him. Zack closes his eyes and prepares for the painful burning to come. When he didn't feel anything, he opens his eyes to see the back of a silver-haired man armed with a ridiculously long katana.

In the blink of an eye, the man proceeds to cleave through Ifrit, causing the summon creature to explode into a ball of fire and fade away. Zack could only look on as he watched the man fight, stunned by the speed and precision of it all.

"Whoa," was all he could say.

Without a word, Sephiroth proceeds to uncover the helmet off of one of the attackers, revealing the face of none other than First Class Genesis.

"Genesis!" exclaims Zack. Sephiroth uncovers another attacker to show the exact same thing. "What the? TWO Genesises?"

"Genesis clones," clarifies the First Class operative.

"Clones?" reiterates Zack, backing away a little. He was feeling a little creeped out. "_Human_ clones?"

Sephiroth turns to look at him. "Where's Angeal?"

"Uh, he was here earlier," answers Zack, looking around. "He was fighting these guys and told me to get the director to safety."

Sephiroth turns back to the clones, his Mako eyes narrowed. "Did he leave with him?"

Zack's eyes snap back to Sephiroth. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Angeal has betrayed us and left," affirms the silver-haired man, standing up.

"You're wrong!" yells Zack angrily, causing Sephiroth to turn to him. "You're wrong! Angeal wouldn't leave! He wouldn't betray me!"

"What makes you so sure?" asks Sephiroth incredulously.

"Even if he did leave," begins Zack, fearlessly approaching the First Class and looking the man straight in the eye. "That doesn't mean he betrayed us."

* * *

**A/N:** O hai thar, Sephee-roth! :D

Much of the later chapters concerning Kunsel will be heavily based on his emails to Zack during the game. So if you want hints of what's to come, power up your copy of Crisis Core and check out his emails. :)

And yes, Kunsel totally jail-broke his phone in Chapter 12. XD Sneaky, sneaky!


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N:** Yeah, I know the previous chapter ended rather abruptly, but I really needed to end it somehow. :3 Honest! And goodness gracious, 26 chapters! This is, by far, the longest a fanfic of mine has ever gotten!

Oh, advance warning for all who have yet to play/finish Final Fantasy VII and/or Crisis Core: **There will be spoilers to both games in the coming chapters to the end! You have been warned!**

And for those who have played Before Crisis: **SHUSH ON THE SOLDIER STUFF WITH ZACK!**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

The next few days was filled with an intensity unlike anything Zack had ever experienced. He didn't know why he felt so uneasy about Angeal's disappearance. Surely there was a reason for the First Class to leave him hanging like that. Maybe he ran into Genesis and gave chase so he didn't have time to notify him or Sephiroth. Or maybe Genesis knocked him out and took him away. So many possibilities, and none could possibly be betrayal.

Still, it troubled Zack to know that his mentor disappeared so suddenly and on his watch, too. Memories of Zen's disappearance up to her death filled his mind and he couldn't help but think the same thing could be happening right now.

_He wasn't sick, as far as I know_, thought Zack, pacing back and forth in the SOLDIER lounge. _But… Genesis and him seem pretty close. Could he have left to help Genesis?_

With a sigh, he falls back onto a chair and stares up at the ceiling.

"Am I a bad friend for not looking for you as soon as I could, Zen?" wonders Zack somberly. "You would've done the same for me, that's for sure."

Footsteps from afair stir him from his thoughts. He turns to see Kunsel enters the area donning his SOLDIER helmet. Now that he thought about it, Kunsel was wearing his helmet more often than usual.

"What's up?" greets Zack as his friend takes a seat on the steps.

"Just wanted to see how you've been," responds Kunsel matter-of-factly. "Since Angeal disappeared and all."

"As good as I can be with everyone thinking Angeal really defected from Shin-Ra," replies Zack irately, crossing his arms. "How about you? You're wearing that helmet of yours a lot now."

"Have I?" wonders Kunsel. "Doesn't feel that way to me."

Zack scratches his head and decides not to concern himself about it anymore. An awkward silence reigns over the lounge as the two sat, neither too eager to want to start up another conversation.

Another set of footsteps interrupt the lingering silence and the two of them turn to see a familiar brunette approach with his blonde companion.

"Sebastian! Essai!" exclaims Zack, standing up. "How have you guys been? Haven't seen you around in a while."

"We've been pretty good," greets Essai, his blonde hair still messy as usual. Although it looks like it had been getting slightly longer. The smile on his face fades away to a more serious expression. "Have you been doing well since…?"

He trails off, unsure if he should mention the name. Zack understands but makes no move to answer. Instead he turns to Sebastian, who was looking very uncomfortable in his presence. The Second Class operative scratches his brown hair nervously and averts his eyes.

"Sorry," was all he manages to say.

Zack smiles a little at the sight of Sebastian still as stubborn as ever. The guy had every right to be uncomfortable knowing that the blood of a deceased was running through his veins.

Sebastian lets out a sigh as he puts his hands into his pockets reluctantly.

"I… never did got around… to saying thanks to her…" he admits apologetically.

"Don't worry," assures Kunsel. "I'm sure she understood even if you never told her."

"Yeah… well… anyways," coughs Sebastian, more than ready to change the conversation to something less somber. "So I assume you guys have already heard about the mass desertion."

"Oh, you mean the one Genesis instigated?" adds Essai.

"What makes you think Genesis started it?" wonders Kunsel, his Mako eyes perking up.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" responds Essai, turning to his fellow Second Class SOLDIER operative. "Genesis was acting funny up until he disappeared. Everyone in SOLDIER wants to get to First Class so there's no reason for them to desert all of a sudden. He must've convinced them to go with him."

"But Genesis always acts funny, especially with the LOVELESS stuff," notes Zack, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but this was different," returns Essai. "Usually he acts all high and mighty and made sure everyone knew it. But then lately he started being more distant from everyone, even his best friend Angeal."

"Maybe what happened on that mission with Zen threw him off the deep end," suggests Sebastian.

"No way, that can't be," asserts Essai, turning to the brunette. "He didn't start acting funny until at least two weeks after Zenny died. If it did have something to do with that, he would've started acting funny right after he came back."

"In any case, those that left with him are nothing but cowards," says Sebastian, crossing his arms. "They don't deserve to be First Class."

He sees Zack looking at him with a pained expression and suddenly wishes he had bit back his tongue on that last statement.

"Oh… uh… except for Angeal…"he coughs nervously as he inwardly chastises himself.

Kunsel lets out a sigh and gets up to his feet.

"I think we all should head back to our quarters for the time being," he suggests. "Standing around here talking about this stuff isn't going to accomplish anything."

"Yeah, you're right, Kunsel," agrees Essai. "Sebastian and I have a mission to prepare for anyhow." He turns to Zack. "We'll see you around."

Waving goodbye to one another, the four of them split up and head in different directions. Kunsel watches as everyone leaves and decides to follow after Essai and Sebastian.

"Hey, Sebastian!" he calls to the brunette, causing him and Essai to turn around.

"What's the matter?" wonders Sebastian as Kunsel catches up to him.

"I need to ask you something," says Kunsel, looking at him straight in the eye.

One glance was all it took for Sebastian to figure that this was a private matter.

"Essai, go on ahead," he tells his friend. "I'll catch up later."

"Okay," responds the blonde quickly, thinking nothing of it as he leaves the two brown-heads alone.

Once Essai was gone, Sebastian turns to Kunsel.

"Do… you feel weird or sick?" wonders Kunsel.

Sebastian looks at him with wide Mako eyes and then frowns. "Why do you ask that?"

"I just need to know," responds Kunsel.

_I can't let anyone know that I'm digging into Shin-Ra's data_, he thought. _I won't risk putting anyone in danger beside myself._

"No, I feel fine," responds Sebastian. He cocks his head to one side. "Do you think there's something wrong with Zen's blood?"

"No, there's nothing wrong," assures Kunsel. "I just needed to confirm something." He waves a hand. "I'll catch you later."

"Hey, don't scare me like that," says Sebastian, looking a little irritated. "I don't want to die because of a stupid blood defect."

"Sorry, didn't mean to worry you," says Kunsel, waving goodbye one last time before he leaves.

As he heads back to his quarters via the elevator, Kunsel couldn't help but think back to when Zen had told him she underwent a procedure to take care of her anemic condition.

_That had to be when everything started_, he assumes. _But what exactly was done to her?_

He remembers the sight of Zack holding Zen's lifeless body back in the Ancient Forest and struggles to fight back tears.

_Wings_, he thought, trying to focus on the details to prevent the sadness from returning. _Zack said her back had a pair of wings. And then her left arm had this weird black bruise…_

Walking out of the elevator, he looks down the long hall of sliding doors to various SOLDIER members' quarter rooms and narrows his eyes.

_Blood_, he thought. _The key is in her blood._

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, Kunsel. I'm sure Zen didn't have _that_ much iron in her blood. :p

Zack pegs me as being a pretty emotional guy, which is cool cause he just has a lot of heart. :) Those kind of people are pretty rare and far in between.

And pffft at Essai's nickname for Zen. XD Good thing she never heard that. She would've died earlier in the story from embarrassment.

Essai: Hi Zenny! :D

Zen: WTF? *commits seppuku*

Essai: Zenny, nuuuu! D8


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N:** Just to let you know, I've started writing a companion piece to _SOLDIER's Song_ called _SOLDIER's Song: Intermission_. This is a series of short stories that didn't make it into the main story because I simply didn't know how to fit them in. So if you're looking for something to do in between _SOLDIER's Song_ updates, you can check out _Intermission_ in the meantime.

Why am I working on something else when I should be focusing on _SOLDIER's Song_? Well, because it helps me combat writer's block and come up with ideas for _SOLDIER's Song_'s development. This story isn't just based on Crisis Core, you know. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 27**

A month passes since Angeal disappeared with no news about his whereabouts. Zack is frustrated as his emails to his mentor continue to go unanswered. He couldn't understand why he couldn't get into contact with the First Class SOLDIER operative. Surely Angeal trusts him enough to let him know where he was, right? Then again, the both of them _are_ using Shin-Ra issued phones so responding to him would reveal his location.

_Did he really join up with Genesis to betray Shin-Ra?_ wonders Zack wide-eyed. He shakes his head. _No! I refuse to believe that. The Angeal I know wouldn't do that_.

Pacing around in the SOLDIER floor lounge once again, Zack continues to ponder in silence until his cell phone starts to ring. He picks it up to hear an unfamiliar voice order him to report to the briefing room. Before he could ask who it was, the person had already hung up.

"The heck was that all about?" he exclaims with a frown as he stares at his phone.

He jogs over to the briefing room where Director Lazard sat staring at a computer screen.

"Have you heard anything from Angeal yet?" Zack asks anxiously.

"No. We can't get a hold of him by phone," answers the blonde.

_I could've told you that_, Zack thought, raising an eyebrow. He crosses his arms. "So why'd you call me here then?"

"I'm giving you a new mission," responds Lazard. "Investigate the hometown of the missing First Class Genesis."

"Why?" wonders Zack.

"According to our intel, Genesis' parents claims he's not around," begins Lazard. "I can't trust this information."

"Why not?" continues Zack.

"Because they're his parents," answers Lazard matter-of-factly.

"Oh…" utters Zack. He thinks of his own parents and how they would easily lie for him if he should end up in trouble.

"I sent some personnel earlier, but I haven't had contact with them since then," continues Lazard. "Check out the situation." Footsteps cause him and Zack to turn around to face the visitor. "He will be accompanying you."

The visitor turns out to be a Turk that Zack had never seen before. With black hair tied back, he looked much younger than the SOLDIER operative expected.

"The name is Tseng," greets the Turk straightforward. "Once you are ready, please let me know."

Zack's phone rings suddenly and he picks it up to hear Kunsel's voice on the other end.

"Oh, hey Kunsel," exclaims Zack. "I'm still in the briefing room… Ah, no can do. I've got another mission… Okay, I'll catch you later then."

He hangs up and turns to Tseng.

"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "So, we're just going to do some investigating? Sounds simple enough."

"Hardly," responds Tseng. "Originally, Sephiroth was supposed to be on this mission so this should be taken seriously."

"What happened with Sephiroth?" wonders Zack, crossing his arms.

"He refused to take the mission apparently," replies Tseng.

"Wait, he can do that?" exclaims Zack in surprise. "Is that possible? Aren't you being a little too lenient on him?"

"Heh, how about I repeat what you said to him?" smirks Tseng.

"Uhh, please don't!" pleads Zack, putting his hands together and smiling nervously.

* * *

Deep within his quarters, Kunsel stares at his phone intently as he reads the data that came across its screen. After Zack had told him that he was going on a new mission, Kunsel wasted no time in looking up the assignment his friend was put on.

"Banora, huh?" he utters quietly. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

* * *

One helicopter ride later, Zack and Tseng found themselves on the coastal town of Banora Village. As they walked through what looked to be the entrance to the town, Zack notices the pathway was lined with the strangest-looking trees he has ever seen.

"Weird trees," he asserts curiously.

"They're trees that produce White Banora apples," explains Tseng. "Otherwise known as Dumb Apples."

"Dumb Apples?" repeats Zack thoughtfully. Then his eyes brighten up. "Wait, you mean… Angeal lived in the same village as Genesis?"

"Exactly," answers Tseng. "Seems they were old friends."

_Does this mean that the best friend that Angeal told me about a month ago was Genesis?_ thought Zack.

Suddenly, a group of Genesis clones appear. Fearlessly, Zack draws his sword and makes quick work of them without even breaking a sweat. The clones were already down by the time Tseng drew his gun.

"This doesn't bode well," he asserts, still holding his gun. "If they're here, that means the villagers are in danger. Possibly taken hostage." He takes a step forward and raises his gun. "We'd better move quickly, as the President plans to use weapons of mass destruction to get rid of Genesis and his accomplices."

"Weapons of mass destruction?" repeats Zack wide-eyed. "Isn't that a bit too extreme?"

Tseng didn't respond as he dashes forward towards a residence with Zack quickly catching up. When they got to the residence, they were greeted by a giant spider-like robot that looked ready to shoot them down. Without hesitation, Tseng raises his gun and takes a few shots at the robot's scope. Meanwhile, Zack goes in with sword drawn and begins hacking away at the robot's legs, throwing shots of lightening magic when he got the chance. It took some time, but eventually the two of them brought the metal beast down.

"I wonder how many Genesis clones there are here," spoke up Zack.

"Where did you hear that?" ask Tseng.

"Heard it from Sephiroth," answers Zack, withdrawing his sword.

"The machines you see here were stolen from Shin-Ra," clarifies Tseng, putting his gun away. "They can also create Genesis clones using monsters and SOLDIER operatives."

"What are you saying?" asks Zack, turning to the Turk. "That SOLDIER members and monsters are the same?"

"There's no time for this," says Tseng, changing the subject. "We need to move on to the next location."

Frowning, Zack follows Tseng to a high-end estate that looked simply lavish.

"This is Genesis' parents' home," confirms the Turk. "The landlords of Banora Village."

"The missing SOLDIER operatives Genesis and Angeal join as accomplices," articulates Zack. "Is that what you think?"

"It's what Sephiroth thinks, apparently," asserts Tseng. "It's not hard to believe. They did grow up together and become best friends."

He looks over to a tree that seems to have something interesting underneath it.

"That looks like a grave," says the Turk. "And freshly made, by the looks of it."

"You're not going to do what I think you're going to do," spoke up Zack, looking a little displeased. "Are you?"

"Someone has to do it," answers Tseng. He turns to the young man and smirks. "But don't worry. Thanks to work like this, I get paid better than you."

"You've got to be kidding me!" exclaims Zack shockingly.

Turning his head so as not to see Tseng start digging up the grave, Zack heads over to the main part of town and is surprised to see no one around. He sees the door to one house is opened and goes to investigate. The sight of an old woman surprises him a bit since there wasn't another soul in sight.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asks him.

"Oh, no, not really!" exclaims Zack, waving his hands in front of him. "Sorry to intrude. I'm Zack."

"Zack…" repeats the woman. Her eyes then widen in curiosity. "Are you Zack the Puppy?"

"What?" Zack exclaims once again, but with more surprise than before. "Where did you hear that?"

The old woman simply chuckles in turn. "My son told me all about you in his letters. No concentration and energetic like a puppy that never calms down."

"Wait, you're Angeal's mother?" asks Zack. He stands up straight and bows respectfully. "In that case, I'm _very_ sorry to intrude!"

"Don't worry about it," assures Mrs. Hewley. She pauses. "You're not by any chance a comrade of Genesis, are you?"

"Nope, not at all," affirms Zack. "No need to worry."

"Has… has something happened to my son?" wonders the old woman.

"I'm not sure," responds Zack. "That's why I'm here. To find out."

"Some time ago, Genesis and his comrades came and started killing the villagers," explains Mrs. Hewley somberly. "He was such a good child back then."

"Have you heard from Angeal?" Zack asks eagerly.

"He came back as well," says Mrs. Hewley. "He left his sword behind and went off somewhere." She turns to the Buster Sword leaning on a wall not far from her. "That sword is our family's pride."

"So that's why Angeal rarely uses it," thought Zack as he gazes at the weapon. He turns back to the old lady. "Leave Angeal to me. In the meantime, I think you should hide for your own safety."

"Don't worry about me," assures Mrs. Hewley. "Genesis will not kill me."

Confused, Zack reluctantly leaves the house, feeling that the old woman's words ring true. He sees Tseng coming down from the hill where the grave was and dashes over to join him.

"So the grave…?" he asks hesitantly.

"Genesis' parents," Tseng answers grimly.

"He wouldn't really do that to his parents, would he?" exclaims Zack in shock.

"Doesn't seem like he has any reason to hide the truth," asserts Tseng. "Did you find Angeal?"

"He wasn't home," responds Zack. "But give me time! I'll convince Angeal to come back! Once he thinks it over, he and Genesis will come back to Shin-Ra!"

Tseng looks on at the SOLDIER operative with a smile. "I see now why Sephiroth chose you to go on this mission."

"Wait, really?" utters Zack, surprised by what he just heard.

"Genesis and Angeal were his best friends," says Tseng. "Most likely Sephiroth refused the mission because he didn't want to have to fight them."

"I'm Angeal's friend, too," adds Zack, putting his hand over his heart.

"I look forward to you bringing those two back," smiles Tseng. "Now let's hurry. We don't have much time."

* * *

"Even if what you said is true," began Angeal, frowning. "There was no reason to kill your parents."

"They've lied to me my entire life," sneers Genesis. "And continued to do so even when I confronted them with the truth."

"They only wanted the best for you," asserts Angeal. "You shouldn't have been so hard on them."

"The best they wanted for me is what's currently killing me," growls Genesis, clutching his copy of LOVELESS tightly. "A swift death was too kind for them, in my opinion."

Angeal sighs and walks over to a window. "He's here."

"Let him come," says Genesis, waving his hand. "There's nothing he can do to change anything." He glances over to his friend. "What will you do now?"

Angeal says nothing. With a shrug, Genesis saunters out of the room.

* * *

"Angeal!" shouts Zack as he ran about the building which seemed to serve as Genesis' base of operations. "Angeal, are you here?"

He rushes into a room to see none other than Genesis, reciting lines from his LOVELESS book as usual.

"You're quite the noisy one," articulates Genesis, putting down his book. "Zack the Puppy."

"I investigated the grave near your home," spoke up Tseng as he enters the room. "We had other personnel sent here to investigate, but it seems they've been killed."

"Are you threatening me now?" wonders Genesis haughtily. "Your intel is mistaken and unreliable."

"It's obvious, isn't it?" says Zack angrily. "At the very least, you should've let your parents live."

"Shin-Ra dogs…" growls Genesis. He gets up from where he was sitting and dusts off his jacket. "What the hell do you know?"

He shoots a blast of Fire at Tseng, knocking the Turk down cold. Zack quickly takes out his sword, but before he could attack, someone steps into the room with his own sword in hand. Zack could only look on in shock as Angeal raises his Shin-Ra issued sword at his own best friend.

"So you've decided, I see," says Genesis. "As your childhood friend, I respect your choice." He walks past Angeal with a smile on his face. "However… can you live in that kind of world, now that your eyes have been opened?"

The words seem to have struck a nerve in Angeal, turning to follow Genesis out of the room while Zack looks on. Zack quickly tries to follow after them only to find that they had mysteriously disappeared.

"Damn, they're fast," breathes Zack. "Where the hell did they go?"

He hears footsteps behind him and turns to see Tseng come up to him.

"Zack, there's no time!" he says quickly. "We have to leave! There's going to be an aerial bombing that's going to erase any trace of this deplorable event. Was there really no one left in the village?"

The look on Zack's face and the silence that followed only serve to worry the Turk even more.

"Hurry!" he tells Zack.

The two of them rush out of the building and then split up in different directions. Zack ran as fast as he could, all the while cursing to himself for not getting Angeal's mother to safety beforehand. He sees the house looming ahead and quickly dashes inside to see the lifeless body of Mrs. Hewley on the floor.

Zack's eyes widen in shock at the sight, memories of Zen's death suddenly coming back to haunt him. He senses someone behind him and sees Angeal standing there with Buster Sword in hand. Anger overwhelms Zack as he grabs Angeal and throws him at the wall.

"How could you do this?" he yells heatedly. "Is this what you call your fucking pride?"

In his fury Zack punches his now ex-mentor, causing the older man to fall back out the door of his own house.

"My mother no longer had any reason to live," coughs Angeal. "And I'm guilty of the same crime."

"Stop saying things I don't understand!" continues Zack. "Explain yourself!"

"I told you. He can't return to that world anymore."

Genesis appears next to his fallen friend, brandishing a smile and attitude that only served to anger Zack even more. Zack turns back to Angeal, who had gotten up and began walking away.

"Angeal!" he shouts at him, going over to stop him. "Angeal!"

As he went Genesis trips him, causing Zack to get a mouthful of dry dirt upon landing on the ground. The ginger then begins to recite lines from LOVELESS, inciting Zack to tell him to shut up multiple times.

"It seems Sephiroth isn't here today," notes Genesis. "I wonder why."

"SHUT! UP!" growls Zack as he finally got up to his feet. "What happened to your pride as a SOLDIER?"

Genesis became silent for a bit before he turns around to look at his home one last time.

"We are… monsters…"

Shootings his left arm out, a large black wing sprouts out from his left shoulder blade, causing Zack to step back in surprise. Genesis turns to Zack as he flexes his wing.

"We have lost both our pride," he says. "And our dreams."

With that, he took to the air with some of his black feathers floating down as he went. Looking up in awe, Zack catches one of the feathers in his hand and grasps it.

"SOLDIERs aren't… monsters…" he says quietly.

Soon after, he is picked up by Tseng and watches silently from afar as the entire town of Banora Village was decimated to smithereens. Closing his eyes somberly, he ponders on Genesis' words and the sight of the man's black wing.

_First Zen and, now Genesis_, he thought. _What on the Planet is going on?_

* * *

Back at Midgar, Zack joins Kunsel in his quarters for another game of Big 2. He needed a break from all that has happened and Kunsel was the only solace he could rely on. As they played on Kunsel's floor, Zack couldn't help but wonder about all that he's seen and heard.

"Kunsel," begins Zack quietly, lowering his set of cards. "Are we… monsters?"

"Huh?" exclaims Kunsel, looking up at his friend in curiosity. "What brought this on?"

"Genesis and Angeal," begins Zack. "They've been making clones of themselves using monsters and SOLDIER operatives," explains Zack.

"… I see," says Kunsel thoughtfully. "Well, fiends are dangerous because they possess a much higher concentration of life energy from the Lifestream than humans do. And since we get showered with Mako, which is from the Lifestream, it's only natural we'd end up with similar strength. Make sense?"

"… I guess…" responds Zack, looking doubtful.

Kunsel raises an eyebrow. "What are you _really_ thinking, Zack?"

Zack drops his cards and gets up to his feet, turning away from his friend.

"Zen had wings when I found her," he explains. "And just recently, Genesis got a wing of his own. What does that mean if we're not monsters?"

"It just means there's a logical explanation for everything," answers Kunsel. "Just because two people we know sprouted wings, that doesn't mean it's an epidemic."

"Yeah, but still…" Zack falls back on to Kunsel's bed and sits there. "I can't help but wonder."

Kunsel looks down at the cards still in his hand.

_Project G…_ he thought._ I can't believe Shin-Ra would actually do something so dark_.

* * *

**A/N:** When Kunsel told Zack in the game that he was well connected, he sure wasn't kidding! :p

And, aww, poor Zack. :( So many crazy things happening to him.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N:** So sorry for the sudden hiatus! My muse, Zack, ran off and went on vacation. Since I needed him in order to continue this fic, I hunted him down all over the world. I managed to corner him in an alley before tying him down with Internet cables and dragging his weeping butt back home.

So that's why I've been stuck trying to write up this chapter.

Zack: H-help me… T_T

AznTigress: Shut up or I'll make you solve another Professor Layton puzzle.

Zack: So… mean… :(

* * *

**Chapter 28**

"We're friends now, aren't we?"

Zen bumps Zack's forearm with her own, a wide grin bright on her happy face. In her red tank top and blue jeans, she nonchalantly turns toward the driver and then back to Zack. Suddenly, her hazel eyes widen in shock and she leaps for Zack, knocking him down. In the blink of an eye, she was in her dark red Second Class uniform with blue Mako eyes blazing. Explosions could be heard behind them, but Zack found he couldn't move at all. His whole body was limp and helpless despite his efforts.

"C'mon, we gotta go," says Zen, easily picking Zack up and off the truck they were in.

Zack could hear gunfire behind them, but Zen didn't seem to worry about the noise as she dragged him along. After a few minutes, she gets them both behind a large rock formation and gently sets Zack down.

"Doesn't look like we can run anymore," sighs Zen, putting a hand on Zack's shoulder.

"Zen…" Zack manages to murmur.

"Don't worry, I can take them," Zen winks, putting a thumb up. "I _am_ a member of SOLDIER, after all. You stay put and focus on recovering."

With that, she stands up with Promise in hand and begins to walk away. Zack meekly stretches his arm towards her, anxiety and fear overtaking him as the thought of losing her overtakes his mind. He hears the sound of swords clashing and guns blazing behind the rock formation soon after she was out of his sight. Suddenly, he was able to move his body somewhat and struggles to get behind the rock formation to see how his friend was holding up.

Turning the corner, his own Mako eyes widen as he spots Zen covered in cuts and bruises, blood dripping down both arms as she struggles to stay on her feet. Standing before her was none other than Angeal, Buster Sword's handle held tightly in one hand. Even in the face of such an adversary Zen remains steadfast, gripping the handle of Promise fiercely.

Zack shakes his head and screams out hoarsely as Angeal comes at Zen, pointing the edge of Buster Sword right at her.

"Angeal…! No…! Don't do it…!"

In a split second, the Buster Sword's blade ran cleanly through Zen's body despite her efforts to counter back with Promise. Tears flood Zack's eyes as Angeal roughly pulls his sword out of the woman's body, looking on spitefully as it collapses onto the ground.

"ZEN!" Zack cries out as he crawls towards her fallen remains.

_No…! No…! _

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

Zack sits up in his bed with a start, cold sweat dripping down his upper body. Panting hard, he puts his hands on his face and felt traces of water running from his eyes.

"It was only a dream…" he murmurs somberly. "A really, really bad dream…"

His blanket still remained on the lower half of his body as he pulls his knees close to him. With a resigned sigh, he digs his face into his covered legs.

"Angeal… What the hell is going on…?"

* * *

In the coming weeks, the Wutai War gradually came to a stunning end with Shin-Ra coming out as the victor. Watching the festivities from the SOLDIER floor of the Shin-Ra headquarters, Zack couldn't help but feel empty and aloof. He had failed to become a war hero like Sephiroth, but more importantly, he lost two close friends in the process.

_It's a good thing Zen isn't around to see this_, Zack thought sadly, laying a hand on the cold surface of the lounge windowpane where he stood. _Her hope was to end the war with peace on both sides, not help one defeat the other_.

"In war, there are no victors. Only casualties."

Zack's Mako eyes perk up at the sound of the voice and turn around to see Kunsel standing behind him.

"I figured you'd be up here," said the brunette as he joins his friend near the windowpane.

"Haven't seen you in a while," notes Zack, managing a meek smile.

"I've been busy, too, you know," responds Kunsel in turn, his helmet tilting a bit on his head.

"Doing what, pray tell?" chuckles the raven-hair.

"Stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Stuff."

Zack raises an eyebrow and decides to leave it at that. If it were something that would bore him to tears, he'd rather not hear it anyhow.

"So I heard you finally got to meet the Great Sephiroth a few weeks ago," notes Kunsel.

"Yeah," responds Zack, rubbing the back of his neck. "Pretty crazy."

"So, tell me," begins Kunsel. "What's he like?"

"Really strong," asserts Zack with awe. "Took down a summon in one hit!" He pauses and crosses his arms. "Well, after _I_ weakened it, that is."

Kunsel lets out a laugh. "Already feeling the pressure, are you?"

"Gotta set the bar high, you know," Zack laughs back. "Becoming a war hero may be too late for me, but I can still become a hero of some sort."

"True that," replies Kunsel with a smile.

Suddenly, the sound of ringing fills the air and both SOLDIER operatives check their pockets for their respective personal handsets.

"Oh, it's mine," declares Zack, flipping his phone open. "Zack here."

Kunsel looks on as the expression on his friend's face changes from curiosity to utter surprise.

"Speak of the devil," Zack exclaims into his phone. After a short exchange, he flips his phone close and puts it back into his pocket.

"Who was that?" wonders Kunsel.

"The one and only Sephiroth," answers Zack. "He wants me to head to the Director's office."

"Well, don't keep him waiting," responds Kunsel. "Can't let him know you tend to be clumsy and forgetful."

"Hey, I resent that!" counters Zack with a smile. "See ya later. We should hang out again one of these days."

"Yeah, sure," Kunsel smiles back as he watches Zack leave.

Once his friend was gone and out of site, Kunsel turns back to the windowpane looking out into the night sky. Putting his hand into his pocket, he takes out a small pure-white feather and raises it to his head. Moving his helmet back slightly, he gently places the feather on the skin of his forehead while closing his eyes. Quietly, he began to whisper a quick incantation:

_At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga._

A moment later, Kunsel found himself in a white space void of any color or physical elements. As he stood still in one place, a strong breeze rushes from behind him and suddenly he was standing in a grassy field. He could sense someone behind him, but didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Feels like it's been forever," he began. "Zen."

Two wings flutter his sides in response and then settle down on the person's back behind him.

"You rang?" calls Zen, a hint of humor in her voice.

Kunsel chuckles in response.

"How's it going… Cetra-man?" continues Zen with a smirk.

Kunsel shrugs. "As good as it can get, I guess."

"Well that doesn't sound very good," notes Zen, crossing her arms. "I'm surprised you're able to actually summon me again. You should've told me about your powers back when I was still alive." She grins widely. "We could've had a bit of fun messing around with them."

"It's not like I was born knowing how to use my powers," Kunsel argues back. "And there's a reason why I kept the truth about me a secret from even you and Zack."

"Fine, fine," Zen playfully raises her hands in defeat. She then becomes more serious as the smile disappears from her face. "So what do you want from me? I highly doubt you would risk channeling large amounts of your magic for small talk."

"I have a bad feeling something bad is going to happen to Zack," answers Kunsel grimly. "Something I won't be able to help him with."

"I know," responds Zen affirmatively. "But don't worry, I've got you guys covered from this side."

"That's what I'm curious about," says Kunsel. "You're able to do things other deceased can't. Why?"

Zen falls quiet as she contemplates on his words. "Well, that's what you're here for, right? To find out."

Kunsel closes his yes as he could feel his connection to the young woman weakening and had no choice but to end their conversation right there. Opening his eyes once again, he found himself back in the SOLDIER lounge, standing in the same spot as he has for the past...

The SOLDIER operative looks into his phone's display screen to check the time.

"Only one second passed in this realm, just like before," notes Kunsel. He closes his eyes and falls to one knee has dizziness and exhaustion suddenly overtakes him.

As if things couldn't get worse, the intruder alarms begin to ring throughout the building.

"That's not good," pants Kunsel, struggling to not get nauseas as he brings a hand up to his mouth. He hears a dinging sound and turns toward the elevators to see them open up and reveal Genesis clones. "Yep, definitely not good."

Forcing himself to stand up, Kunsel draws his sword and prepares for the fight to come.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zack was cleaving through another set of Genesis clones and robots as he heads for the entrance to the Shin-Ra building. He had just been declared a First Class SOLDIER by Director Lazard himself. Now in the royal violet garb of a First Class operative, Zack couldn't help but feel empty than excited to get promoted. Images of Kunsel and Zen slide through his mind as he hacked through robots and Genesis clones.

_They were always supporting me_, he thought as he stares down at the fading bodies of the clones. _Always cheering for me to become a First Class. And I cheered back for them to get to First Class as well. But was that what they truly wanted? Did they really share the same dream as me?_

Zack grips his sword tighter and furrows his brows. _Do I really deserve their friendship when I didn't acknowledge their dreams in return? I never even acknowledged Zen's dreams until it was too late._

He cuts through another renegade robot as he descends the stairs to the entrance of the building. _And now I have to kill both Angeal and Genesis! This… this is all too much!_

In a fit of anger, Zack takes down a slew of Genesis clones and malfunctioned robots that came through the entrance. When the deed was done, the SOLDIER operative was left shaking in tension.

"Zack!"

In that instant, Zack straightens himself up as he turns to face the famous First Class SOLDIER approaching him. Just the sight of the older man manages to get him focused and back on track to the task at hand. The time for regret was not now when there were more important issues to attend to.

"Sephiroth!" Zack responds back. "The intruders are Genesis clones!"

"So I've seen," replies Sephiroth. "This looks to be Hollander's doing."

"Who?" Zack cocks his head to the side in curiosity.

"The technology used to make these clones was stolen from Shin-Ra's Science Department," clarifies Sephiroth. "Most likely Hollander and Genesis have been using that same technology to create these clones."

"What do you think they're planning?" wonders Zack.

"Hollander lost his position as head of the Science Department," Sephiroth continues, crossing his arms. "He developed a big grudge against Shin-Ra as a result so this is probably retaliation for that."

"That's just stupid," says Zack. "Does that mean that Genesis is helping him with his revenge?"

Sephiroth falls silent for a moment. "It's something I don't want to believe."

"Then don't believe it," responds Zack firmly.

The silver-haired man sighs. "I'll do that." He motions towards the doors. "There seems to be more clones in Sector 8. Let's head out."

Nodding in response, Zack follows Sephiroth out of the Shin-Ra headquarters and into the streets.

"Split up!" orders Sephiroth as soon as he saw that there were many Genesis clones ravaging the sector.

"Roger!" Zack shouts back and heads into the Loveless district.

* * *

_Slash!_

With one swipe of his sword, Kunsel brings down another Genesis clone with his SOLDIER-issue weapon. Usually he could make quick work of his enemies with his magic spells, but with most of his magic drained from channeling Zen he was left with nothing but his brute strength to fight the intruders. Not to say he wasn't much in the physical department. He didn't get promoted to Second Class for nothing.

A sudden flutter of feathers outside catches Kunsel's attention and sends him running towards the window. His Mako eyes widen as he spies something with white wings head towards one of the reactors. He quickly sticks his hand into his pocket to take out his personal handset.

"This is Second Class Kunsel," he speaks clearly into the phone. "I'm here to report that First Class Angeal has been sighted going towards Reactor 5."

Flipping his phone close the brunette stares out towards the reactor, clenching his fists.

"So it begins…"

* * *

**A/N:** "Speak of the devil." Oh Zack, how little you realize the eventual truth of that statement… :o

And yay, more exploration on Cetra abilities with Kunsel! :D But where did you get that feather? You graverobber!

(Oh hush on Cloud and Zack's abilities to connect with the realm of the dead. I'll touch on that later.)

By the way, personal handset is what the PHS stands for in Final Fantasy VII's menu. It's what people refer to cell phones as in their world.


End file.
